Evolution
by DamienDarkside
Summary: Evolution is the key to survival, even if it is not fully understood. Follow a Hunter as he defines who he is and will be in a new world gone mad. It even has a Jamaican! Read and review! M for Language, drug use, sexual themes, gore and violence!ENDED
1. Transcendence

Hey everyone! This is my first submission to , so everyone please read and review! I like to "keep it real" so expect blood and gore. Flames will be ignored/deleted.

I do not own Left 4 Dead; all unnamed characters not crucial to the story are copyright Valve.

..:: Evolution Chapter 1 – Transcendence ::..

"Fear not death for the sooner we die, the longer we shall be immortal."

— Benjamin Franklin

_Unending pain, unending hunger, and unending hate forcing the lust to kill forward. Pushing onwards through the veil of undeath. Going without purpose, lashing out without aim, killing without thinking. Sounds leading, prey closing in. Danger passed, leap for the kill. Stop, danger still here. Detected! Flee! Pain! Blood! Vision fading! Leap! Fade into darkness. Hear shattering. Feel pain. Surface soft. Rest. Fading. Death._

_Awaken in a bed._ Bed? What's a bed? What is this feeling? _Feelings_. Feeling? Curiosity. State of wonder. Seeking out answers. Answers? What are answers? _Pain_! Head hurts so much! It stopped. Relativity. The gauge of personal opinion. My head hurts! Pain in my lower leg and arms. My? My... a state of personal being. I. Me, myself and I. _Pain_! My head hurts when I think! Thinking allows beings to model the world and to deal with it according to their objectives, plans, ends and desires... what? What is this? My head hurts so much! Why won't it stop? Why must I be in pain? Why must I... who am I? Who am I?

Who am I?!

I woke up later, yes I did. Me, I have my own consciousness. I have Self-awareness. I have my own thoughts. I can't remember anything substantial apart from hidden knowledge, like what was what and what was not. Such as the light on me was the sun and if I stared at it too long I'll hurt my eyes. The broken frame over on my right was a window, broken glass cuts and should be cleaned up. I don't have any memories, only the crashing of a window and immense pain. I laid there and wondered where I am and what I was doing here. I don't have a name; I just have this awareness of being. "I think therefore I am" flashed in my mind. It made sense to me. Things were making as much sense as they could for a being without an identity. I'm not a being, I am human!

I slightly moved my head up to see the rest of what I defined as "me". I was wearing what I remember to be a sweater; it was black with a silvery lining on my arms. I was also wearing blood-stained jeans, which were torn near the thigh in a circular shape. Probably a bullet wound. Bullet... why did I know it was a bullet? Probably because nothing else would create such a shape, especially though my body. I was also wearing black shoes. I moved my body up along the top of the bed along the wall, moving my hands to my sides to help. I moved to grab the button on my jeans, and then stopped when I saw my hands. They weren't four fingers and a thumb. What were my fingertips were now elongated claws. I poked the bed experimentally with a finger, it cut through the fabric like it wasn't there.

That worried me, also it was the first time I was concerned about the shaky identity I have given me, which was "human". From what I could remember, humans didn't have claws, nevertheless claws that could shred easily. One human part of me was truly concerned though. I played around with the opening of my pants, trying my best not to shred anything and gently slid them down my legs. Thank God... whoever he was, it was still normal... or what I assumed to be normal. The bullet hole was there too, rather a light scarring in a circular shape. My skin was also slightly rougher. That also wasn't normal for a human, I should still be bleeding. My head throbbed as I remembered the feelings of pain and pleasure.

Okay, it is fine. I wasn't attached to that identity anyways. So I am a humanoid! Alright, I could deal with that. It just means I am either less than human or more than. A feeling came from me, making me think I was more than human. Was that narcissism, pride or something else altogether? I got up and tested my legs. They felt fine, even better than what I would describe as "normal". I just wanted to run as fast as I can and as far as I could across rooftops looking for something to eat. I wanted to jump over fences and over gaps. I wanted to _hunt_. I opened the drawers of whoever was living here, or lived here. I certainly don't know what is going on or what happened to me. I found a pair of jeans that were more or less the same shape as my old ones. They were black and by chance, they actually fit. They felt too baggy along the legs for some reason. I grabbed my old pants and gently took off the silvery tape. Silver tape. Duct tape. Ducks. Birds. Chicken. I want some chicken. Hmm... Oh well I'll deal with that later after my head stopped hurting! I started to remember feeling hungry and full. I felt somewhere in between.

As I was fumbling to put the last of the sticky duct tape on my pants I noticed something fell out of my old jeans' pocket. It was a rectangle-shaped and looked well-worn. I opened it up, inside there were a bunch of cards and some papers. I removed one of the cards that had a picture on it. I stared at it in wonder; there was a man on it along with some symbols. I wondered if it was me. I stared at the symbols, trying to decipher its meaning. Slowly it came back to me. _City_ was one of them. _London _was another; something told me there was another London in a place called England. I wonder where England is._ College, Fanshawe, Student, Business marketing_. All these words make the picture slightly clearer except for one nagging detail. Who was this student of the business market? I got my answer: _Damien Aaron Parker_. Another card had that name on it. It read "_Damien Parker, Assistant Manager. Tommy Hilfiger, Square One Mississauga. Canada". _That might be me! I was then hit by another headache this one stronger than all the others as I regained a faint sense of identity.

I moved quickly to a room that I recall being named "bathroom" in which I would find a reflective glass called a "mirror". I stood in front of it and marvelled at the reflection staring back at me. I looked similar to the man in the picture! My hair was way too dirty and slightly longer, also bloodstained but still blonde. My face was lightly scarred in a few places but still looked more-or-less human. The only things betraying my identity were my eyes and teeth. My teeth were sharper then the charming smile that the man had. I tried it out, now it was just charming and creepy. Okay that settles that. I then stared at my eyes. They were a bright topaz, almost even glowing. They reminded me of a cat, whatever hose animals we- a furry creature that has a tail and eyes that are known to be able to see in the dark and land on their feet. They also hunt like I do. Did. My head hurt some more in a dull throbbing as more information was processed.

Alright, so my name is Damien Aaron Parker. I am similar to humans but gifted with claws and a possible ability to see in the dark. What would I be? In the back of my mind I came upon the easiest and most obvious name. I was a Hunter. "I amrrrrrrraaahhh" I said, my throat all scratchy and hoarse.

I grabbed a Styrofoam cup with then gentlest touch I could and filled it with water. I drank it down; it burned as my head throbbed with the feeling of being thirsty. I kept on drinking until my throat stopped hurting. Then I splashed it on my face to take off the blood on my mouth. Soon enough my throat no longer felt as damaged as it was before and my sweater was lightly soaked. I've learned my name, I've taught myself to put on pants. I will talk.

"My... na... name is... D-d-d.. Damien" I told myself "I... ahh... am a hhuuuun... hunter."

Good, baby steps were over. Now I had to leave this room that I was "born" in. I looked out the window; I was in an apartment building by the looks of it, about fifteen floors up. I looked across from the street. The building was over thirty stories high. My previous self must have jumped off the building and by chance landed in this room. That made the glass and pain memory sound true. The memory of what I will consider my birth.

I looked around for any movement, I couldn't see any. The street was deserted and abandoned cars were everywhere. I looked closer at the trashed street to see if I recognized anything. Then I saw all the bodies. I felt a bit of sadness as I moved away from the window, thinking of all that death of my cousin race. I had to find out what happened. I looked for another opening since I wasn't going to try and jump down fifteen stories into a deserted street. I moved to a wooden panel on the wall. The purpose was still in my head, except for how to operate it. I pushed on it. I hit it, causing me to slash long marks into it. I noticed that there was a handle. I took a grip on it and pushed, then pulled. Nothing happened. I then decided to just twist and rip it off. When I twisted though, the door moved open. I gasped at the opening of the door into a world that I didn't know. I was going to take the one large step into the unknown.

I stepped into the hallway, it was barely lit. What did attract my attention was the man in the corner. He was just standing there with his head on the wall; he was dressed in a business suit. "Ex—excuse me sir." I said.

He slowly turned around and I immediately knew he wasn't human; at least not anymore. The blood dripping from his mouth testified to that. He growled and looked at me with a hunger I couldn't describe as friendly. Then he yelled and ran at me with his fists balled as if he was going to beat me up like a fourth grader in the schoolyard. Schoolyard? I didn't have time to ponder these things as he was almost at me. I clenched my fists then swore as I cut myself on my new claws. I had to find a good way to use them. He punched me in the face and it snapped something inside me. Something primal and instinctive in the back of my mind was driving me. I jumped on him without caution and proceeded to mutilate him in ways that would leave him unrecognizable. Blood and gore covered the walls behind me as I clawed into him. When I was satisfied that he was more than dead I got off of him and stumbled backwards, almost stunned at what I did.

It wasn't the killing that made me fall back; it was the power at which I killed. I effortlessly ripped through the man's rib cage and his organs were in random places in the room. It pretty much looked as if he exploded. I wiped my claws off on a set of curtains that were hanging on the end of the hall before I heard another cry. This time it as from multiple people and it wasn't the same as the crazed man that I saw. These were what my mind categorized as "human" and it sounded like it was coming from outside the apartments.

I ran through the halls looking for a staircase, cutting through a few other bloodstained creatures that tried to get in my way. By the time I killed my third... thing I was able to properly fight with my claws instead of my fists. By using them like daggers I was able to better defend myself. Unfortunately they wouldn't stop bullets that I heard firing from the alleyway I saw in one of the windows I ran past. I noticed my legs were almost moving with a mind of their own. I was barely making a sound across the shattered glass and papers, and any rubble that was in my way I easily scaled over in split second jumps. I even instinctively jumped off a wall just to get over a broken couch and overturned vending machine. A newfound sense of power washed over me as I smiled a sharp and toothy grin, I was _fast_.

I found another door with a stair sign on it and kicked it open, not wanting to waste any time in opening it the right way. I started to run down the stairs. Annoyed at the slow progress I was making I punched out a window to see where I was. I only ran down seven floors! The gunshots were slowing down in their firing and my hope was beginning to fade in making contact with sentient creatures. My hopes were also more dashed when I heard a female's bloodcurdling scream. I needed a quicker way down.

I ran into the next floor, killing a few more of the... well the word _zombies_ came into my head. It made sense to me. After running into a room I noticed I didn't hear a sound, not even gunfire. I jumped out the nearest window and landed on a fire escape. I then jumped off to a pipe I saw descending along the side of the building I jumped from. Before long I was on the ground and running along the pavement, using the walls to jump along and over cars, dumpsters and anything else in my way.

Then I came across the carnage. There was blood everywhere, along the walls, ground, windows... everything. Bullet casings rolled along the wet ground, moved by the water already there nad the blood leaking from everyone. There was a definite ring of bodies around one individual still alive. She was covered in blood, her white hair stained with specks of crimson. She was skinny, but not as pale as the rest of the bodies around her. She was cradling a person in her arms, who was still clutching a pistol in his dead hand. She was barely dressed, her t-shirt stained with blood and her panties soaking the blood that pooled around her from the body she was holding. She was crying her eyes out. Bullet holes scarred her body."Are you alright?" I asked her, fearing the answer.

She turned to look at me and then I saw the most horrifying and beautiful thing in my first hour of existence. Her face was cute or at least what my mind was interpreting as cute. Her eyes though were almost glowing red. Then I noticed her hands, they made my newfound claws seem like toothpicks. She then cried the words which circled in my mind.

"I killed them all!"

---------

There we go, hope you enjoyed. No the survivors from L4D 1 and 2 will NOT be showing up. In case if you haven't noticed, this takes place in Canada. Hope you enjoyed it, I certainly enjoyed writing it!


	2. Revelation

Hey! Hope you enjoy this! Dr. Pepper is great for stories like this!

I do not own Left 4 Dead, but I do own Damien Aaron Parker's Identity, and this particular Witch.

..:: Evolution Chapter 2 – Revelation ::..

"I've got death inside me. It's just a question of whether or not I can outlive it."

— Don DeLillo (White Noise)

Alright, this is certainly not a good time to barge in on someone else's affairs. There is a cute chick in front of me, barely dressed, full of bullet holes, blood everywhere and crying her eyes out. Not to mention she just admitted the killing of what seemed to be the last humans on earth. Zombies, or rather what I have perceived to be zombies in my mist-filled mind, were littered along the street. I barely had a name, I don't own anything, I'm different from every single thing around me and I'm now talking to myself in my head. That's interesting; I can speak to myself in my mind without making a noise outside of my mouth. I must have done it before, but it is satisfying to learn that I can actually do it. Heck, I'm still doing it.

Nevertheless, I'm feeling quite optimistic about the situation. I'm still alive. I've just met someone that can talk, even if she looks like she wants to kill me. I've learned that I can run really fast and with the grace of a cat. Cat. Hmmm I have to find one of those these days just to see what they are like. Alright, time to deal with the situation at hand, mainly the bloody, shot up stressed female. She cried a bit more before slumping down and barely moving. Killing everything in her way must have taken a toll on her body.

Hoping that if I piss her off I could back away, I approached the sobbing, crying girl with relative optimism. "Yeah, and you did a really good job of it. I enjoyed watching you myself." I said, crouching down and resting my knuckles on the crimson pavement.

"No-no- I'm not sup-p-pposed to ki- kill anything! It isn't h-hu-human." She cried as her deadly claws lightly scratched the pavement.

"Well from what I saw, they were trying to kill you. So you have had full-right to kill them. Plus, I don't know if you have noticed but you aren't looking quite like yourself lately."

She looked up at me, her eyes quite normal if her coloring wasn't blood-red. "Are.... you going to kill me? Am I a monster?"

"Haven't planned on it to be honest, you are the first person I have ever met or seen. To be honest, I don't think you are a monster. In fact," I moved my fingers in the light above her, showing my claws, "I think we have more in common than we do with humans."

I looked at her shoulder; the bullet wound was slowly closing up. "You plan on killing me?" I asked her.

"No, though you do seem quite like the others. You are just different though..." she replied closing her eyes, seemingly losing consciousness. "A good different, you haven't killed me yet..."

She then stopped moving, but her body continually repaired itself. Seeing as I had nothing else to do I picked her up, making sure her claws were safely palm-up so I didn't get gutted. I started the trek back to the only place I knew that was relatively safe, my room. The trip took about... wait how long is how long? I placed the girl on a couch and sat there, wondering what the passing of... what was passing? There had to be something, something that would tell me how well I was doing in a gauged sense of measurement. It was then in my mind that a few zombies decided that I might have been lunch. Wait what is lunch? Not the time to be thinking about this. What is 'Time'?

I had no time – there it is again - to react as I was scratched on the neck, barely missing what my body told me should not be cut. Quickly enough I recovered and slashed my way through about five of them before I realized two things. One, I am temporarily safe. Two, I'm counting something. My mind burst again in pain as I remembered how to count. As the pain cleared I sat down and leaned my head back, touching the girl's stomach.

I couldn't believe it! I just learned how to count! Now it seemed pathetic that I couldn't do that simple task five minutes prior! It seemed sad that I couldn't grasp the concept of the passing of time! Sure I had an inkling of what they meant but now I knew things! Fear me! For I am _learning_! I was proud as bits of knowledge came back to me. I wasn't regaining memories, just concepts and theories. I still didn't know anything prior to me bursting through the window and into this world.

I also remembered about nakedness, I really had to get this girl clothes. I picked her up and moved again to my room. In about 5 minutes I set her down on the bed and barricaded the stairs by easily placing large items of furniture. I went back to my mysterious girl friend. My mind chuckled at the space in between before I remembered why it was funny. Although I could barely grasp this new "relationship" concept in my mind, I was certainly hoping that she was kind enough not to gut me. I like my guts inside me thank-you-very-much.

I looked at her wounds again and noticed something peculiar about her healing nature. The wounds that were covered in blood were already healed, while a few other holes were still open, not leaking anything. With my recent grasp of logic, if she had blood put on her it would increase the healing process. I wondered why her blood didn't work, or the zombies' for that matter. I moved my wrist over a cut on her chest, above a fleshy area my mind identified as a 'breast' and below her 'neck'. For some reason I was more nervous than ever about this situation, for no reason whatsoever. I poked my wrist with my claw and my own blood dripped onto the wound. Almost instantly it started closing faster than before. So did my wrist though, I had to pierce it again as I moved along her body.

I moved to the other wounds on her body, feeling that it wasn't necessary to check under her lack of clothes for they were already soaked in human blood. By the time I moved from her arms and chest down to her legs, I noticed the wounds were closing themselves now. That was very peculiar, and it bugged me. Then I looked at my wrist, it was again healed in seconds and fairly unmarked. Then it hit me, my blood was now in her... what else was I indirectly doing to her? Now it really didn't seem like a good idea to bring her back up, I might have really messed her up!

"You are so stupid Damien!" I said to myself, out loud this time. "You just met a mysterious girl who is clearly not human after establishing the fact that YOU aren't human and now you've gone and messed her up as much as you are! I wonder if she still wants to be my friend."

It seems that I am also having trouble grasping this whole 'regret' and 'guilt' thing in my head. I realized I might have made a mistake, but now it was too late to change it. Time to deal with the present, things on my list to do: food, clothes, safety. Nothing was coming in or out without my knowledge... at least nothing from the fifteen floors below, I needed to check this floor and the floors above. Slowly I made my way through the floor I decided that I was to 'reside' on after closing the door softly behind me.

There were random zombies here and there along the rooms on my floor. Most were trapped in closets or were too injured to move much. I silenced them before they could raise any alarm. When I moved into a dark area, my eyes adjusted and I saw in an orange shade. Everything was going well until I was on the seventeenth floor. I was silently running to the end when I heard a few coughs. Hoping they were coming from a human survivor I looked around for the source. My hopes were dashed as a long, sticky thing wrapped around me. It wrapped around my shoulders and my left arm and threw me to the floor as I tried to grab something with my right. I dug my claws into the wall and looked back to what was attacking me. It looked like any other zombie, except there was a huge growth on the side of his neck. The thing that was wrapped around me appeared to be his tongue and it was long! It was trying to drag me into its grasp as it coughed and wheezed through the hole that used to be its mouth. I gripped the wall tighter as my claws made contact with metal framework and he responded by pulling tighter, as if he was going to pull me apart. I suddenly got an idea as his tongue increased tension. I released my grip on the wall and I flew straight to his face, with one swipe of my claws his head burst into a cloud of smoke. I opened the window to clear the smoke and threw his body and long tongue out.

As his dead corpse fell to the first floor a few howls were heard as a group of zombies ran at me, forcing me back through the hallway to the end. Killing my way backwards I was able to reduce their group to about three before I noticed I was about three steps from falling down seventeen floors. I stabbed through one zombie's face before killing the second. I grabbed the third zombie's body and threw him out the open window. I watched in great pleasure as his body hit the pavement, its head exploding like a balloon.

After quickly making my way through all the floors I stopped in what my mind interpreted as a female's room. I looked through the drawers in the room until I found a few sets of clothes. I ran around for something to carry it in and picked up a bag different from all the other light plastic ones. It had straps that appeared to go over the shoulders. After fooling around with the straps I figured it out more-or-less and threw the clothes in. I ran up the last set of stairs with my new bag and opened the door. It was to the rooftop. I stared at the setting sun as it painted the sky in blues and oranges.

Speaking of oranges, I could really go for some food. First was the girl's condition. I ran along the staircase to my apartment and for the first time, I wasn't afraid of anything. Nothing was going to attack me so I looked around at my new home with a better sense of what everything was. It had a main room that had a couch, a few shelves and an adjacent kitchen. Then it had a tiny hallway that opened to my room and the bathroom where I learned who I was.

I moved to the bedside as night descended on the city. My eyes adjusted to the darkness as I moved the blanket up the girl's body, coating her in a soft orange hue. I fell back into the chair beside the bed and fell asleep, hoping my throat wouldn't be slit in the morning a I heard howls and other nasty noises coming from the city.

---------

There we have it! Second Chapter! Please read and review! Action will be picking up soon, this is a survival story so they have to establish somewhere to survive first!


	3. Communication

Thanks for the reviews and hits so far! Keep reading and I'll keep writing

I do not own Left 4 Dead, but I own Damien Aaron Parker and Jessica Miskovsky's Identities.

..:: Evolution Chapter 3 – Communication ::..

"I'm against nature. I don't dig nature at all. I think nature is very unnatural. I think the truly natural things are dreams, which nature can't touch with decay."

— Bob Dylan

Have you ever felt like you are floating in nothingness? Ever felt like you just want to lay back and just coast along? Ever want to just jump off this building and see how long it takes before you hit the ground? What stops you from jumping? What stops me from jumping? Who are you? Who am I? Who am I talking to? Who are you talking to? Who? What? When? I. Now. Here. Wake up! Don't jump. I won't jump. I have so much to live for. What do I have to live for? I live because I have already died. I live because I don't want to die. Don't want to jump. Float on, float on. Jump man! Be the Jump Man. Feel that jumpiness. Now I'm not making any sense. No, you aren't making any sense. Why don't we just take a step back and just live a little? Let's just take a step back and wake up shall we?

Well, shall we?

My eyes blinked open as the sun started to rise over the rooftop of the next building, making me slowly regain consciousness and regain a sense of reality. I dreamed for the first time. It was just me standing on the edge of a building. I was talking to someone, or maybe I was talking to myself, I still haven't got a good hold on this 'directly talking to me in my head' thing yet. Something else was wrong though as I felt a slightly heavy weight in my lap.

Apparently, my mysterious girl had awoken from her stress-induced slumber and felt like she needed to talk. Her claws were up against my throat and one finger was placed over what I remembered to be my "heart".

"Morning" I said, what else could I do?

"Are you speaking?" she said, slightly surprised for a second before pressing her claws up more against my throat, "Are you going to kill me?"

I felt my blood trickle down my throat as I replied to her question in the calmest voice I could "I'm not going to kill you. If you don't take your lovely claws off me however kitten, you will find me to be quite dead."

I called her kitten? What was with my obsession with a creature I have never seen before? She took her claws away from my neck and sat back on me, staring at me with her topaz eyes. Wait, weren't they red before? She apparently went through the bag that I brought her. She was wearing jeans and a tight black t-shirt that had skulls on it with some holes around the edges, probably from her getting them on. "So you are the talking Hunter in my dreams then."

"More-or-less yes I guess I am. I found you on the streets outside, covered in blood. Don't you remember anything?" I asked her, my head slightly tilted to the side.

She lowered her head, her snow-white hair covering her face. "I can remember bits and pieces, not much though. I remember pain... and suffering and an overwhelming crushing weight of sadness on me... and being all alone." Her voice was getting softer and saddened, "All alone! In a nightmare... in my nightmare..."

She slowly fell forward, her head resting on my shoulder and her arms wrapping around my neck. Then she began to weep. As she cried I also felt an overwhelming sense of despair and sadness as the light seemed to fade from the room. She just cried softly into my shoulder as she embraced me, almost digging her claws into my neck. Alright, what to do? I've got a killer girl with a killer body in my arms and she is distressed and crying.

Part of my body said to get as far away from her as I could. Another part said to just eat her.

However I couldn't do either, she was found by me. She is the first person in this new world that hasn't tried to kill me yet, even if she was different than humans. I wasn't going to let her go, so I didn't. I wrapped my arms around her and she relaxed a bit into me. Good, she wasn't going to kill me. After about ten minutes her sobbing started to fade. "So," I tested, "apart from your emotions what do you remember? What's your name? Who are you?"

She looked into my eyes, slightly horrified. "I-I-I don't know who I am! I'm not human! At least not anymore... what am I?! What's happening to me? Ohhhh my head!"

She lightly grasped her head in her claws as she struggled to regain some of her memory. If I had anything to do with this... this was going to be painful for her. I held her tighter as I whispered that everything was going to be okay. She wasn't alone anymore. She wasn't in a nightmare. Pain only makes you stronger and is temporary. You will be fine I promise. I'll protect you. I'm not going to let you die.

She stopped shaking, and she also stopped crying. She looked into my eyes and smiled, which was uplifting even in itself. She then spoke the words that seemed to dispel the darkness in the room and destroy all despair. "My name is Jessica Miskovsky. I am alive."

The mood was then broken by the gurgling of both of our stomachs. We both laughed for the first time since meeting one another, and the first time in my life. Laughter, even just the light chuckle I started with was uplifting. I never knew that this action could be so satisfying! I will never go for the rest of my life without laughing at least once a day. I picked her up and helped her to her feet. "Alright then Jessica, let's get us some food then."

We walked the blood-stained halls of our building, checking the rooms for any food. She apparently remembered more of the old world than I did and pointed at metal cylinders that she referred to as 'cans o' food' or just 'cans'. I picked one up, looking all around it to try and open it but I couldn't remember how to. I passed it to her and she looked at it for a second before her eyes lit up. "We need a can opener or something sharp to pierce it."

"Well, do you have a can opener?" I asked her, hoping she found one.

"Nope, something better" she replied as she used her claw to cut a hole in it; then moved her claw in what I remembered to be a 'saw' type motion.

She passed the can to me and I poked a piece of yellow with a caw, hooking it and bringing it to my mouth. Instantly my mouth was flooded in a flavour I couldn't describe in anything but 'sweet', then my throat and neck started to make weird motions as another sensation took hold of me. It was slightly unpleasant. Jessica however, thought that it was hilarious. "You don't remember anything do you?" she asked me.

I swallowed the rest of the delicious, yet weird feeling stuff before responding that I didn't remember a thing. I filled her in on what I did know, which was pretty much the last twenty-hours of my life. I omitted the part of me healing her of course; she still didn't seem to like the whole 'I'm not human' aspect of her; even if she was beginning to accept that fact that she never will be human again. She then seemed a little sad. "So you don't remember anything before all of this?"

"No, everything is new for me. I do remember how some things work and what not to do. For the most part though, I am just trying to piece things together. Everything is dangerous, everything is unknown, zombies are trying to eat me and smoky things with long tongues are trying to kill me. I know I'm not human, though I am not sure what I am now."

"Must be terrifying for you then," she said as she took the can from me and to my amazement she drained it, eating the yellow bits as fast as she could.

"Actually it isn't. It is really exciting! I am learning so many new things. I know how to read, I know how to speak. I think I can write and I have strange words floating in my head like 'mon ami'."

She seemed surprised, "You can speak French?"

"I don't know. I don't even know what I am speaking now." I said, getting slightly confused.

"Well, let me give you the crash course then Hunty. I can't remember much but I do remember some things. The world is dead; everything that you would remember if you could remember is lost. Everyone is infected, or what we call zombies. It happened two weeks ago, I can barely remember what happened and from what I remember I don't want to. Infected want to only eat and they are attracted to sounds, mostly loud sharp sounds like gunfire and car alarms. The smoky thing that tried to kill you is what I remember to be called a 'Smoker' for obvious reasons. There are other ones that I can't remember. You are what I call a Hunter... but you are different from the rest of them."

I tilted my head to the side. "How is that?"

"Well for one you haven't killed me yet, and you haven't run away from me yet. Two, you can actually talk. Three, you can actually think and use reason. Those are pretty much the main facts right there. You are different. You still have an obsession with hooded sweaters though"

"Then what about you? You don't seem to be human, if you don't mind me pointing that out. You can speak and think and you haven't killed me either. Plus, I like my sweater!"

She sighed and seemed a bit depressed at that 'not human' thought. "Well I guess so. I am what they call a 'Witch'. Basically I'm supposed to just sit there and cry. If you bug me, I kill you then get all upset at what I've done."

"But you aren't just sitting there and crying, you aren't just killing on random or whoever bugs you. So you, like me, are different." I pointed out, "You are alive and unique, you have something more than the infected and you are something more than just human."

She seemed a bit happier after I said that. "Anything else I should know about?"

"There are big fat ones I called 'Boomers', but you don't want to poke them. They explode and cover you in something that attracts the infected when it makes contact with you."

I looked at her with slight disbelief and disgust. I didn't want to have to get a new sweater! I liked my sweater with all of its covery...ness. "Well, if we are going to fight Boomers and Hunters and Smokers then we need to find something else to fight with instead of our claws."

We both looked at each other, then to the ground, thinking of what we could possibly use against the infected. Then it hit me, "We could use guns! The people that I found near you had them on them! We could also use the supplies that they had."

"But you said you barricaded the stairs so that no infected could get up" she said.

"I'm not infected though. I'm a Hunter!"

"So Hunty, what is your name?" she asked as I ran to the door.

I stopped, turned my head and told her. "Damien Aaron Parker. Hunty does it fine though."

I jumped out the window and hit the rooftop on the 'eastern' side of the building. I found her on the opposite side. I jumped onto the Apartment's wall before jumping to the East Building's wall, jumping again until I had a rhythm of descending with well-timed wall jumps. Soon enough I landed feet-first like a c-... like a Hunter. I quickly ran to the dead bodies on the side of the alleyway. I was right, they still had gun on them. I opened my bag and started collect what I could remember to be useful. I also remembered about a 'safety'. I looked around the pistol in my hand until I pressed a button; it made a tiny 'click' sound. I placed it in my bag before loading it up with unused bullets that had fallen out of other's bags. I also collected clips and anything else I could get my claws on. There was a med-pack but that seemed like a bit of a waste when my body was a med-pack. I also didn't get the knives since my fingers did a good job in dealing with anything close-up. I picked up another bag and started to fill it up. I then picked up a long pistol. Its barrel was longer than all the others and looked like it needed two hands to use.

It was just my luck when a zombie came along from a doorway. I aimed at him, and then I pulled the trigger. A deafening 'boom' issued from the end of the tube and it smashed against my shoulder, bruising it. The zombie was thrown a few feet backwards though and fell into a bloody pile. My happy thoughts were cut off when about twenty zombies came from the far end of the alley and started running at me. What did Jessica say about loud noises? I knew I should run, but I could take them!

A large roar burst from behind the yelling infected as a few of them were tossed in the air. Then what seemed to be a large man with a really large arm burst through the front line and ran straight at me, intent on crushing me. He was almost to me when I jumped away. I noticed he also has a smaller arm, just dangling there as if it had no purpose. I grabbed both of the bags and ran for the rooftops. I jumped my way back onto the fifteenth floor as yelling and screaming ensued from below me.

Jessica saw me jump through the open window and roll, spilling weapons and ammo all over the floor. "Holy crap! Are you alright Damien?" she said, rushing to my side.

I heard a screech as another hooded figure jumped through the window and slid into the wall. In its dazed moments I grabbed a pistol and shot at it. Unfortunately the safety was still on and nothing happened. It saw Jessica and shrieked, went onto its hands and knees and jumped at her. I cried in rage and met him mid-flight, making us both crash to the floor. I punched him in the face as a claw missed my throat. I straightened my fingers and thrust into his bloody neck, its cry cut short as I opened his windpipe and jugular. I heard a female cry as claws ripped through the Hunter's sweater, then split his ribcage open. I slid out from under him before his organs fumbled through his sweater and onto me. I quickly closed the window and shut the blinds so that no other infected could see our movement.

When I looked at Jessica, she was on the floor crying again. She was horrified at what she did. She stood up and ran for the stairwell, crying my name as she disappeared into the hallway. She could really hurt herself so I let her be. She couldn't get down to the infected unless she... jumped off the roof! I ran as fast as my Hunter legs would allow me, still silent as I ran across the floor. I couldn't let her die! I couldn't let her leave me! She was the only thing I had worth holding onto!

I found her up on the roof like I feared. She was standing on the edge of the twenty-floor drop. She turned to me with tears streaming down her face. She knew my question before I even spoke it. "Why shouldn't I jump? I don't have anything left in this world! I have lost everything in this world! I don't have anything left. Why shouldn't I jump? Why shouldn't you jump with me? Why don't you just end all the uncertainty? Why don't you just jump and let this nightmare end? You have nobody here for you like I have none for me. You have nobody left to love; there isn't anybody else out there for you! Humanity is dead. Why wouldn't you jump? What could you possibly have left in this world worth saving? What do you have that is worth living for?"

She turned away from me, and that is when I acted. I ran towards her with speed I had not known to possess. I grabbed her along the waist and threw her to the cement floor of the rooftop. I pinned her down like a Hunter should and I spoke to her the way a human would, but with every ounce of honesty that I could use.

"I don't jump because I have a choice. I have a choice to just end my life but I chose life instead. I came into this world knowing nothing and nobody, not knowing who I am or what I was doing here and feeling nothing. Now it is those reasons that I have in which I make my choice to survive! I know who I am! I know what things are! I know how to feel! I know what I am and I chose to accept it! You might think that there is nothing left for you but I know that there is only one thing for me! Jessica, you are the only person I know, the only thing I have ever hoped to hold dear! You are the reason why I choose to live. You are the person I want to be kept safe. I look for food and clothes and a way for survival because I know I was given a second chance at life for a purpose. Even if I am pinned by a Hunter or caught by a Smoker, I won't give up because I know that you are alive! I fight for you because..."

I looked into her tear-stained face. Her soft snow-white hair splayed on the cement, contrast from her black shirt. Her topaz eyes lock onto mine. My heart finally was calmed from all the excitement from the day as a sense of ease washed over me. Why was it that I wanted to fight for her? Why did I want to keep her alive? I had only known her for a day but I was already willing to give my life for her. She is all I know, she is all I want. The answer came to me as I remembered what the concept was. It made sense to me. It was the last thing I had to remember to make me partially-human and not the monster that was a Hunter. It was the last thing that made me complete.

I brushed her soft hair from her eyes and bent in close to her ear. "I fight for you because I love you, and I don't want you to die."

Then my mouth moved closer to hers. Her muscles loosened and relaxed, not fighting anymore against me. Her breath was hot on my lips as I moved forward with an instinct I couldn't remember, but I followed.

Then the world stopped being a nightmare. I was no longer afraid. I was free.

---------

Thanks for reading. Hopefully girls won't kill me for either:

1) Making a cheesy love scene at the end of this chapter

2) Cutting it short as it was getting good

Hey, I need a reason for you to read the next chapter! Thanks for reading! This is the longest chapter so far! GO DARKSIDE!


	4. Survival

The what-I-want-to-believe-as-the-long-awaited-chapter of Evolution is here! Tinkies is either going to love me or hate me in a moment.

I do not own Left 4 Dead; but I do own Damien Aaron Parker, Jessica Miskovsky's identities are mine, so is Alexander Bastian Lawrence. Please note that I write accents, so if yous-a having a hard time a readin' this mon, ye best be learning ta speak it now with an accent ya hea? In that sense, Alex's speech will not be grammatically correct!

..:: Evolution Chapter 4 – Survival ::..

"I have lost friends, some by death...others by sheer inability to cross the street."

— Virginia Woolf

The connection of our lips; one piece of skin from each of us made my brain stop. I forgot about the infected clawing at the doors in the lobby. I forgot about the guns on the seventeenth floor. I forgot I didn't really like yellow bits of food in a can. I forgot that the girl I was currently kissing wasn't even human and almost spilled Hunter guts all over my favourite - and only – sweater.

"S club! There ain't no party like an S Club Party!" I heard out the corner of my mind.

Apparently Jessica did hear it more than I did. She broke the kiss and almost threw me off of her. "Holy shit somebody is alive!"

I shook my head as I heard the sounds louder and louder. There was an assortment of loud sounds which was slightly pleasant to the ear coming from the North. It was also apparently telling me to shake my body from side-to-side. "How do you know, what do these sound signify?" I asked her.

She looked at me quizzically, "You mean you forgot all about music? Let alone S Club? Man my mind is really fucked up an I reme-"

My mind was more 'fucked up' than hers was, and was going through those ever-present throbbing phases. My head burst into pinpoints of light, sending bolts of pain through my body. This was the most intense rushes I ever had. Music. Music? What was musi -an artistic form of auditory communication incorporating instrumental or vocal tones in a structured and continuous manner. Sounds? Tones? Artistic? Artistry? Gauging what was pleasant to the ear, eye and mind. Contrast, beauty, a higher acute sense of clarity. Vibrations that cause distortions in sound waves that can be interpreted in the mind.

I remembered the concepts of art, music and sound.

A hand was shaking me, claws picking at my chest through my sweater. A female voice was calling to me. It sounded beautiful, a different type of beauty that was her form. I looked at who I defined as Jessica. Her loose white hair blew in the breeze. Her face had blood and dirt on it, streaked with almost a whitish tone and smoother than all the rest of the infected. Her moderately sized-breasts were shaking in her shirt as she tried to talk to me. Her claws are a peal-shaded hue that webbed into slightly different faded colors in the falling sunlight. Her eyes a bright topaz, and shaped just like a cat's. Just like my eyes were. She was just like I was.

"Damien! Are you okay? Talk to me!" she yelled.

"Jessica?" I asked.

"Yes? What is it? Oh my god you were just screaming in pain. What happened to you?" she asked.

"I remembered something that is all. It happens." I said as I got up and looked over the edge, the infected were running from our building and others as the music played.

It sounded like multiple people singing, but I now knew that it was just a recording. After a few more seconds it ended, and the infected wavered. Then a new song started up, similar in sound to the last but without as many words and seemingly filled with more... soul.

"I'm still alive. I can't apologize anymore." It said, and it filled me with hope.

"Jessica, please go downstairs and get the guns. Defend yourself against anything that comes your way alright? I'll be back, I promise." I said as I ran to the edge of the building.

"What are you going to do?" She yelled back to make as I gauged the jump I had to make.

"I'm going to jump; it's what I was made to do!" I said as I ran off the edge, pushing off on the lip as about twenty-three stories of space opened up beneath me.

My heart raced as I flew through the air. The wind blew my hood back as I soared. My heart beat like it was going to burst out of my chest. I was defying the very forces that keep me down. My arms spread as if I was going to fly. The beats form the music made my adrenaline pump as I settled with what I had become. I doubted that a human could do this. I felt that if I would die in this new world and only could cherish three things, it would be music, feeling flight and meeting Jessica, I would die a happy Hunter.

_You have changed._

_I have changed._

_Just like you,_

_Just like you._

Not that I would die from this, at least I'm hoping. What Jessica was going to do when she threatened to jump was to fall to her death, about twenty floors of falling like a rock. What I was doing was jumping from building to building, hoping I didn't fall like a rock. When I jumped up the building, I was averaging about 3 floors a pounce, from a dead stop. I figured that the three floor height gain might help with jumping over a building and onto the next, about fifteen floors in height. That eight floor drop would sting, but not kill me or harm me in any way.

_For how long?_

_For how long,_

_Must I wait?_

_I know there's something wrong._

Luckily it didn't as I hit the ground hard, instantly rolling and dislocating my shoulder. My body healed itself faster than I though and my head burst into pain as I ran across as my shoulder re-shifted back into position. I jumped again to a closer building, heading towards the music I saw coming from a few buildings up. I was beginning to doubt the looks of my entry to the rooftops as I came up to the apartments that the music was coming from.

_Your concrete heart isn't beating!_

_And you tried to_

_Make it come alive._

The roof was lined in barbed wire and was extended outwards with knives, blades, fence and anything else that would deter someone or thing from climbing their way up. I wasn't going to climb up though; I'm not like my familiar Hunters. I was more of an... Alpha. I like that name and title! I am Damien Aaron Parker, the Alpha Hunter. The familiar sense of pride swelled as I knew I was more than an Infected, and more than Human. Now I'm going to jump onto that roof where the music was coming from.

_No shadows,_

_Just red lights._

_Now I'm here to rescue you!_

I landed on the roof, barely making it over a pitchfork in the process. I looked up to see a man of a different shade of skin on the top of the rooftop access. His skin was a dark brown and his hair was in long, thick, strands. He smelt funny. He wore a black long coat that my mind told me was a trench coat and black pants. "Holy sheet! A hunta'!" he yelled as he raised a silver pistol and shot me with it.

_Oh I'm still alive!_

_I'm still alive!_

_I can't apologise no..._

The round pierced my left shoulder as I flinched. I turned back to look at him. He wasted no time in firing another round through right thigh. He missed three more before hitting my left shoulder _again_. By that time my shoulder had healed and I was closer to him. "Would you stop fucking shooting at me?! I'm not going to eat you!" I yelled.

_Oh I'm still alive_

_I'm still alive_

_I can't apologise no_

Apparently that caught his attention more than the fact that I was a hunter. "What the fuck mon? A talking hunta'? What wrath might tha Lord be placing upon me to meet with such a devil?"

I put my hands in front of me in a reflexive motion, as if they were magically going to stop the bullets that would come out of the gun pointed at me. "I'm not going to hurt you, I'm not insane like the rest of the! I've come to help you just don't fucking shoot me!"

_So silent,_

_No violence_

_But inside my head._

_So loud and clear!_

He sat back in an impressive-looking chair and turned the music down to an almost tolerable level... if you were deaf. He took a crumpled tube of paper and lit the end of it. He breathed it in deep before regarding me, and then he exhaled as a plume of smoke blew from his lips. I wondered why he would be doing that. Also, what was he doing on the roof of a building as the infected swarmed underneath him, sucking on a tube while music played speaking English wrong? "Okay hunta', you best be explainin' yourself before I place a bullet between your eyes ya hear?"

"My name is Damien Aaron Parker: and you are right, I am a hunter but I'm not crazy like the rest of them. Now I'm not crazy but I think you might be placing yourself in way too much danger here. I can rescue you!"

_You're screaming._

_You're screaming!_

_Cover up with a smile I've learned to fear..._

He smiled at me with slightly blackened teeth as he sucked again on the tube. He took his black trench coat and shifted his shoulder, I could clearly see a bite mark there, but it was healing nicely. What was he doing up here? "I'm infected now mon. I was bitten last week by a freaking zombie and now I'm up here waiting to die. I was with a group of people and I'm here for the distractshawn so they can be escaping easy and clear from across the city now. I stayed back to die so they might be living for tomorrow okay hunta? So now it just be me, my herb and some nice music 'till the Lord be kind and take me into heaven."

_Just sunshine_

_And blue sky_

_That's just how it goes_

_For living here_

"Not to burst your self-sacrificing bubble, but if you were bitten a week ago, then you should be infected. You must be immune or something then! Your wound is even healing cleanly; I can barely see any blood! Now I don't know about you but I think it should be high time we got off this building!"

The strange dark man laughed, his hair waved back and forth on his head. "Oh mon now this be a strange sight for all ta see! A hunta' telling a man he is gonna rescue him! Well we best be leavin' before tha end of tha song then! It has quite an explosive finish to it that cha don't want ta be near!", he said as he grabbed his backback and took one last puff, "Now how is we gonna be getting offa this roof?"

I tuned my back to him and crouched a bit. "Get on, and I'm probably the second most terrifying thing you will see today."

He wrapped his arms around my neck and coughed, smoke raising in front of my face. "Oh man this is a gonna be a terrifyin enough as it is! I am so not inna good parceptshun ta be jumpin offa roof now hunta'!"

I gripped his legs, careful not to pierce through his coat. It was thick and leather so I doubted that I would. It made me wonder if he picked this up after the bite, this thing felt like it would stop a zombie from chomping down. "I have no idea what you are talking about but here we go!"

We fell faster than I thought we would and when we hit the next building I couldn't roll. My legs hit hard and they burst into pain as my muscles and bones shook from the impact, but weren't damaged in any way. We ran back as the music played, jumping over the similar-topped and grouped townhouses. He was fairly fast, not like me. He had more muscle on him that was for sure, his pack was double mine back at home. He also had a rifle and shotgun slung between his back and pack. When we thought we were far enough away we looked back.

_Come fire_

_Come fire_

_Let it burn and love come racing through_

The zombies had made it through to the top of the building. I saw a few fat ones that Jessica told me were 'Boomers', plus a few Smokers. One really stood out though. He was huge, muscle and built like a tank. "Holy sheet! A Tank was afta me Man I guess you must be a angel or something mon! Just with less white and stuff right?"

"Not exactly."

_Oh I'm still alive!_

_I'm still alive!_

_I can't apologise no._

_Oh I'm still alive!_

_I'm still alive!_

_I can't apologise no._

_Learn to lose._

_Learn to win._

_Turn my face against the wind._

_I will move fast._

_I will move slow._

_Take me where I have to go._

_Oh I'm still alive!_

_I'm still alive!_

_I can't apologise no!_

_Fire! Fire! Let it burn!_

_Let it burn!_

_Burn! Burn! Burn!_

"Here we go mon! I even remixed the last part for the occasion!" he yelled.

Then the building exploded floor by floor as the music blared 'burn'. The darkening sky was lit up as fire flared from the ground. Floor by floor expelled flame and burning debris as infected died. The tank was enveloped in flame as he launched towards the sky in one last final explosion. He landed on another building a block away, smashing through the side of the building and leaving a gaping hole. "Alright, ye best be takin' me where ya need ta go then stranga'."

"Hunter is fine if you aren't calling me Damien. I'm Damien Aaron Parker, you?"

"Why I be Alexander Bastian Lawrence mon, pleased ta make your acquaintance then Damien." He said, pronouncing my name with an 'on' instead on an 'in'.

We ran from roof to roof, I helped him over a few. I made my way back onto the side of the eastern building. That was the easiest side to jump from to reach the fifteenth floor. There was a red cloth on one of the windows that I had never seen before. I jumped through that with Alex on my back. We landed safely inside, and slid a bit.

Then a shotgun was to my face. "Oh thank god Damien! You're okay!" Jessica said as she hugged me, avoiding cutting me up with her claws.

"Yes I am and I have someone for you to meet." I said as I motioned her to see Alex.

"Holy sheet! Itsa witchy witch! I have ta stop smoking tha ganja! It be makin' me see things!" he crazed as he backed away from Jessica.

"I'm not going to kill you either. I would have done so in a loud and depressing manner. I'm Jessica Miskovsky." She said to him, extending a clawed hand.

"Ah just like tha singa. Well Jessica, I be Alexander. Alexander Bastian Lawrence atcha sarvice!"

He hesitantly shook her hand as he sat down on the couch in my apartment. He stared at the wall, thinking of possibly anything, most likely his current situation. He was probably the last human alive in this city. He then snapped his attention to me and said the most intelligent thing he has said so far in our shaky friendship.

"I don't know about'chu mon, but I be tinkin I be gettin' mighty hungry now. Ye got any food here?"

---------

There we go. Now we have a human, the cannabis-smoking Alexander Lawrence is now in our midst. He is second-gen Canadian-Jamaican. Otherwise people might not understand a single word he is saying. It took me a bit to understand my friend as well when I met him years ago.

'Till mext time, ye be havin' a great day now.


	5. Camouflage

_I am still continuing through Evolution. I am now getting to the dreaded 5__th__ chapter! Can I make it? Will this series continue? I guess it will!_

_WARNING! There is sex in this chapter between an Alpha Hunter and an Enlightened Witch. If sex bugs you, then skip it. This was labelled M for a reason. They aren't undead, so it isn't necrophilia; Vampires commit necrophilia, not infected. As Bill was so kindly to remind all of us, they aren't Vampires. Technically they aren't even zombies if they are infected. They have to die first to be zombies. ANYWAYS, enjoy it. Even so, Jessica and Damien's bodies are pale, so expect that. I know some things might be different from human-human sex. I am taking artistic liberties to make it more... personal between the two. We all know that Witches love sugar, plus I think it would be a lot better if you girls tasted bit more like citrus. No offense. _' Also, my French isn't spot-on so take it as Frenglish._

**I do not own Left 4 Dead; but Damien Aaron Parker and Jessica Miskovsky's identities are mine, so is Alexander Bastian ****Lawrence and whatever/whoever comes into this story****.**

..:: Evolution Chapter 5 – Camouflage ::..

The last couple of days were not as interesting as the first few days of my life. Since I decided that I wasn't going to learn anything if I didn't keep it in my head, I concentrated on keeping memories. This was particularly uplifting for me because instead of concentrating on the memories that I had lost, I was making new ones for me to enjoy. I also gained the mysterious powers of reflection and a deeper understanding of everything when I did so. I learned to properly open a door without any thought at all. This among other things helped me gain a proper understanding of how everything worked out. This however wasn't one of the good memories.

"Damien! Have you finished with the seventh floor yet?" a female voice called from the stairwell.

"Almost, just a few more okay?" I called back.

I tossed the last of the bodies from the seventh floor outside the window. We – meaning Jessica – had decided that since we were trying to not get killed by zombies, the best we could do is try not to get killed by the smell of them. The only problem was cleaning out the bottom fifteen floors of the apartment building while scavenging supplies. We split the jobs up for all of our abilities. I also quickly learned that thinking back helped a lot of jobs go by faster, including cleaning out dead bodies, and their appropriate pieces. I also wasn't allowed to wear my sweater, which I had loved. I was now a pale bare-chested Hunter that was covered in blood, vomit, boomer bile and other assorted fluids. I was also in charge of killing any infected that still roamed the halls. At least the blood washed off the bile.

Alex would only make more noise if he fought the infected, mostly from his shotgun or his pistols which would only drag in new infected. He was in charge of the defence, since he apparently spent almost a week by himself surviving. He boarded up all the windows on the fifteenth floor except for the one that I frequented. He was also in charge of barricading every level from the fifteenth down. He travelled from floor to floor picking up supplies as well. Looks could be deceiving if I was born with any resentment or assumptions about people or race, luckily for me I wasn't. Alex was actually an engineer and architect. This really surprised Jessica, who still remembered much more than I did about the Old World.

"What? A smokin' nigga can't be an architect or know what the hell he is making? What be the matter with ya girl? Ah take tha look of ya face Witchy. I'm just messin' witcha." Was his response when Jessica asked him if he was joking or not.

So a day after we met him, Alex and I looked for parts to use for any project that he was inclined to work with. I learned a lot about construction and human designs. He gave me a list of what he needed with half-decent pictures of each item and where I could find them. Luckily for us there was a construction site a few buildings over that was easy enough for me to steal wood and metal from. He used his hunting rifle to kill of any 'special' infected that were either chasing or hunting me. Two days after he started – I was on the twelfth floor cleaning – he had made himself a pulley system that extended off the roof.

This he used to move himself and supplies to the roof, where we could place it along the floors that needed it. We lived on the fifteenth, and the food was on the eighteenth. Alex kept his construction materials and workshop on the nineteenth floor, as well as what he called a 'hawtbawks'. It basically was a room that was closed off and smelt funny. He usually was in there after a few hours solid of working, and then when he came out he seemed really relaxed and giggled at everything. He also drew during that time too. I didn't know half of what he drew, but there was a picture of a beach that I loved. I kept it and put it in my personal room, which was the room I was 'born' in. Jessica and I moved to another, less bloody room.

We were too busy to spend much time with each other; there was too much work to be done. Alex kept track of movements along the city when he wasn't working or smoking and he said he was noticing a few blocks had a bit more activity than others. He also said he'd like to explore what he called 'Toronto', where he also stated that most of the zombies were there as well. Seemed like a plan to us. Not many zombie hordes attacked us for some strange reason. I mean we were just sitting ducks up here. Soon enough that was going to change.

First of all, we needed to be able to not just survive, but _live_. To do that, I needed to get these smoker tongues off of the floor.

By nightfall I was down to the third floor. A good couple of floor barely had anybody on it and the fifth was actually pretty well deserted. Alex finished with the fourth floor's scavenging and was ready to pick me up. I saw him out the only window in the hallway, at the very end. Everything was shaded in orange in the apartment apart from the windows, as night came a few hours ago and the full moon was in the sky. "C'mon Hunta' ya got a girl waitin' on ya mon," he said as he motioned me to join him.

I sat down on the edge of the frame that he built and pulled a chord. That chord rang a tiny bell that would tell Jessica that she could start cranking now. Despite her slim body, she was incredibly strong and he had to make sure she used her palms and the base of her claws to move things around or she'd cut through a good chunk of them. As we were ascending he handed me a towel, I quickly wiped off any remaining blood on me and my claws. Quickly we were brought up to the fifteenth floor. Where Jessica was waiting for us, she was breathing a bit heavier from bringing Alex up eighteen floors. I barely weighed anything, I figured my bones and body were altered to help with my jumping abilities. Jessica was wearing a long trench coat and a bit of black pants, from what I could tell anyways. "Dinner is ready guys," she said smiling at me while walking backwards, and then she yelped and fell backwards into a hole that was on the roof.

Alex laughed as we jumped off the platform and walked to the door, "I put dat dere yesterday Witchy. Hopefully cha didn't fall on your small ass too hard there now."

When he got to the door however he kicked me in the chest. "This is da door for humans mon, infected go down dere." He said pointing to the pit, then slammed the door and locked it from the inside.

I looked at the door funny before moving towards the pit. Jessica was nowhere to be seen from the top so I hopped down. I landed lightly and sank up to my knees in a bunch of soft bundles, what were pillows doing down here? I looked around the room, but I couldn't see much because the moonlight was playing havoc on my orange sight. The wind was knocked out of me as a force pinned me against the wall. I heard hollow thinks as if something was embedded in the wood. I felt a hot breath on my neck as a female licked the bottom of my ear. I shivered at the touch as my heart sped up. "Aww, did somebody pin the Hunter?"

My eyes adjusted to the dark as I saw Jessica's face illuminated in orange, she was still beautiful as if she was in light. We didn't say another word as she moved her lips towards mine and kissed me, her long white hair moving slightly before our lips made contact. My heart raced as fast as it did the first time we kissed, and it still felt as exhilarating. I could only compare it to the adrenaline I felt when I jumped long distances or ran for as fast and far as I could on the streets.

However there weren't any cars this time, no death-defying moments, no infected chasing me, no Smokers strangling me, Hunters pinning me or Boomers vomiting on me. Not even a suicidal Jamaican could stop us now. I figured she had enough time to gather her thoughts. However I couldn't ponder on this much as I felt a tongue lick over my lips and thought desperately on how I should respond. The answer, like most did, came accidentally as I moved my mouth to speak. Her tongue invaded my mouth and licked across mine and I instantly returned the gesture as if it was the most natural thing to do. In fact, it even felt like the most natural thing to do.

She broke our kiss a minute later, but it seemed like several. Relativity, it was a gauge on one's perc- _not now! _She released me as her breathing grew loud and heavy as she stepped back into the moonlight. She was wearing a long black silk nightgown that contrasted beautifully with her long white hair and showed quite a bit of her breasts. My eyes grew wide, my heart pounded in my chest and something stirred within me. I moved in front of her, took her face in the palm of my hand and brought it up to my mouth again. I loved kissing her; I couldn't help myself. Just the action itself brought something from deep inside me; something that was almost animalistic in nature. I slid my other clawed hand behind her and held her closer to me; our bodies were enveloped in moonlight.

She broke the kiss again and pushed me forward lightly and we fell back on the pillows. The smell of Alex's smoke filled the air, but I could also smell _her_. I nuzzled her neck affectionately and breathed her scent in, it was almost intoxicating. She sat up on me and placed my clawed hands on the bottom of the slick black material. She then leaned over me and whispered "I thought that we were spending too much time apart. I also wanted to properly thank you for keeping me alive. I want this," she paused as my hands caressed over her thighs, "I want you..."

If anything disturbed us now, not only would I kill it, but I'd eat it before it died.

I pulled the silk gown over her head as she leaned back again. Her pale almost-white naked body had a faint glow in the moonlight. I bent up and kissed her again, but she lightly patted my head and moved me downwards. Seeing how my eyes were level against her mounds of sexy flash I took the hint and dragged my tongue over a light-pink nipple. Her light gasp told me I was doing something right as I felt one of my lower appendages swell and grow in my pants. Enjoying my activity I kept on licking her left nipple, sometimes even sucking on it. I was awarded with it growing harder and her light gasps coming more frequent. I moved over to the right side to make it match. She grabbed my free hand and moved it to the one I left behind. I groped it without cutting her.

Soon enough I smelled something that was quite pleasant, yet familiar. I also felt a growing heat coming from between her open legs. I realized that I smelt _her_, and that it was slightly sweeter in scent. Taking the initiative for once I pushed her back on the mountain of pillows and licked down her chest, over her belly button and down to my intended destination. I moved her legs open and looked up at her face. Her eyes almost pleaded with me with untold, but understood desire. I moved back down and looked at yet another amazing thing in this world for the pseudo-first time. Her sex was white with a pinkish tone like the rest of her. I expected for it to have hair, or at least some part of me did. The hair on her head didn't grow unless blood was on it so it made sense that the little blood that did splatter would grow here... then again she could have removed it herself. I certainly wasn't complaining, especially when I was going to do what I thought would be good for her. Gently using my thumbs I spread her lips and noticed that her insides were pinker and a lot wetter than the rest of her. I could feel her shiver at my light touches and contacts.

Breathing in her sweet scent one more time I gently licked her with my tongue, which was slightly longer than a human's. Doing so made her gasp and moan a bit. I liked the taste, it reminded me of the yellow bits of fruit but tasted way better. I wanted more and she didn't object as I licked all around and inside her, to which only increased her reactions. When I found a particular spot, she gasped at the contact my tongue was making and cried my name. Assuming that this was a 'continue' cry I did so. After a bit of licking and increased noises coming from Jessica, her legs clamped around my head and held me there as she almost screamed my name and leaked more of her juices, to which I happily cleaned off.

Her legs relaxed and fell to the side and I moved up her body, kissing her stomach along the way. I flicked my tongue off her breasts which made her twitch lightly as she gently stroked a claw along my back. I noticed that two pillows were shredded and the blanket beneath us was cut on the top. I decided not to make any comments to that as she blushed, the red even more accented off her creamy skin. I bent down and gently kissed as she flicked a claw over my pants, effectively scissoring the button right off. She was getting better and better at using those.

I shuffled and slid out of my pants, making my hardening shaft press and tent against my boxers. She saw it and her eyes widened a little bit, though I didn't know the reason. All I know is that I was moving without using my mind, it was overloading already with all the sensations moving through my mind. The sight of her naked body was beautiful; I bent down and started sucking on her nipple again. Her smell was intoxicating and sweet and I drank it in. Her taste was still on my tongue, to which I savoured. The sounds of pleasure coming from her mouth spurred me forward. The feeling of her claws slowly moving across my back made my skin tingle. The room was getting slightly cold, the clock on the table told us it was two in the morning.

I think somewhere along that line we both really lost our self-control to some degree. She used her claws to rip my boxers off and I couldn't stop kissing her. I kissed along her neck, licked across her ear, and kissed her lips. She shifted herself beneath me as I curved my body slightly downwards, brushing the head of my manhood against her wet slit. I broke the kiss and looked at her with question. Her face was relaxed and smiling, and a bit naughty as she bit her lower lip. "Go ahead Hunty... make me yours"

She wrapped her legs around my waist as I slid into her. She was incredibly warm against the night air, and tight around my shaft. I started thrusting into her as she moaned into my ear, my impacts softened yet slightly drawn out by the pillows. I increased my tempo as my hips met hers. Her moans and cries grew louder as my instincts drove me forward. Her legs tightened on me every once in a while as we continued our actions. She whispered my name again and again into my ear. I moved up a bit while thrusting into her, watching her squirm. Her handful-breasts bounced back and forth, her eyes shut and she was breathing so heavy I could see her breath in the night air.

Something was building in me though. It was a feeling I was unaccustomed to, yet welcomed. I had learned much in the past with Jessica but these feelings. Ones of lust, passion, intimacy, love and sexual pleasure were totally new to me, but not at all technically foreign. I felt as if I had shared these feelings before, back in the past that I couldn't remember, before I had awakened into this world.

Soon enough the pleasure was breaking through all of the other feelings as Jessica tightened her legs more than ever around my waist. I nuzzled her neck again so I can shove myself as deep as possible within her with every stroke. With one cry of my name I felt her clench around me and arch her back, exposing her neck more than ever. Something took me over as I lightly bit down on her neck. In turn she gripped me with her claws, cutting thin lines of red across my back. I couldn't feel any pain as intense pleasure flooded over me, and I felt my shaft twitching. I felt myself emptying into her, spurting myself deep inside. It was one of the most pleasurable things I had ever experienced.

As quick as it came it was regrettably over, I released my bite and she released her grip on me, our minor wounds instantly healing. I kept myself inside her as I rolled her on top of me, letting her comfortable weight rest on me as I moved the blanket on top of her body. Her claws lightly resting on my chest as she slid off of me and me out of her. Cuddled beside me she whispered "I love you" then fell asleep.

I gave her the same reply and with my girl beside after me I fell into the warm peaceful embrace of sleep.

I dreamed of a beach. I dreamed of the waves crashing down onto the shore on a bright sunny day. The water was crystal clear. Little things that I remembered to be fish were swimming in the water. Cats like fish. The sun was warm on my chest and face. The soft breeze blew beside me as my feet walked across the sand. Jessica was there. She ran towards me wearing almost nothing, just enough to cover the parts that mattered. Alex was also there too, his mouth expelling smoke as he drank a brown liquid from a glass bottle. I must have dreamed of heaven.

I awoke later with the sun on my face still, the light warming my chest. I felt warmth coming on my left side. Jessica was sleeping beside me underneath the blanket with her leg over mine, her clawed hand on my chest. I moved as slow as possible out of the pile of pillows. I found a separate blanket and wrapped it around myself. I kissed Jessica softly on the forehead and then silently jumped out of the hole. I almost landed on Alex.

"Whoa mon, watch where ya be pouncin'! I don't want no Hunta' wang on me!" he said surprised.

"Quiet you, now I got to get dressed and give something for Jessica to wear. No peaking at her alright?" I told him, pointing a claw at him.

"Boy, I would 'ave done it earlia if I wanted ta. Now get some clothes on, ya stupid naked hunta'!"

I turned to the door, he turned to me again and flashed me a toothy grin and a thumbs up. "Oh and Hunta' I betcha did a nice good job if she still be in there! Now hopefully she'll be out of there before I take a break now you know mon? Oh and if you are runnin' today, why don'tcha bring me back a woman now okay?"

A few hours later I was redressed in a pair of jeans, eaten, and was back to what I didn't like. It was tolerable though, dragging bodies to the streets. I had the previous night to keep my mind off of what I was doing. Soon enough I had the main floor clean and the doors barricaded. Now all that there was left to do was to clean the rest of this blood up. That was Jessica and Alex's job.

I was going to run.

After kissing Jessica good bye and seeing her blush, I lightly punched Alex's own fist in what he called 'a propa brotherly 'andshake mon'. So looking for a little action, I did what I always did to find good materials and other things... I followed the infected. They didn't fight me up front all the time, mostly they just ran past unless I felt like killing one or twenty of them. The 'special' infected knew I wasn't entirely like them though, they attacked me on sight.

Following a certain mob of infected, I found myself in front of what I remembered to be a mall. I landed on a structure that held a bunch of cars and looked at it. It definitely once had humans. Tents and the like were strewn around all over the place. The doors were covered in chains and mounded with shopping carts. It actually looked barricaded! Which meant humans could possibly be still alive! I was about to pounce onto the roof when I actually heard voices.

"Ah! What a fine catch you are! Been looking all over for something like you to feast on!" a male voice, loud and gruff said.

"Mmm Just wait until we get a piece of you! We haven't seen something quite like you in a while, only infected around these parts now." Another male said.

What was it that they had caught? Was it more food? Was it something else? What was it?

Then I found out what they had 'caught'. It was a woman. Her hair was black, her skin was about between mine and Alex's, and kind of like some chocolate I had eaten. Her hands were bound and her mouth was gagged. Her clothes were worn and dirty. I didn't have to think twice that anything that they were going to do to her was for the right intentions. As overjoyed that there was someone other than Alex alive, I was filled with anger at them treating their own like that.

They picked her up and put her in some kind of sack, then helped themselves climb up a wall with a few ropes that descended over the edge. Another male with a shotgun looked over, making sure it was humans and not infected coming over the edge. All of the males wore green and brown in a splotchy pattern. I realized who were taking the women. The army was. There was a tower covered in the same green-brown material and I could make out another male on it. He was sleeping.

Or rather what appeared to be the remnants of an army located in what Alex referred to as 'Mississauga'. He filled me in with what the army was in one of his stories when he was 'high'. He said that they were the ones with the guns, and you wanted to be with them, or far away from them. Especially me since I still kind of looked like and infected with my sweater, smile and eyes. These guys looked like nobody I'd want to be with even if I wasn't infected.

I decided to rescue the poor woman, and eliminate the threat from the area. Infected were troublesome enough but guys with guns looking for women seemed to be a bigger danger. I waited for the other males to go into the roof access door before making my move. I sped along the far side of the building and landed on it. I could see why these guys chose this building; it was three stories high and didn't have many windows! I quickly ran up the tower as silent as possible. I covered the male's mouth and slit his throat, blood soaking into his uniform as he silently died.

I slung his assault rifle over my back as I descended as quickly as I came. Then moved over to the soldier that was guarding the ropes. He smelled like Alex did after his hawtbawks session. Good, I didn't want him to notice me. I also slit his throat and removed his weapons, placing his rifle farther along the roof. I took his pistol as well and a few clips, this might get messy. I noticed that the pistol had a second part to the barrel. It then dawned on me; they were using silencers to take out individual infected. Alex explained weapons to both me and Jessica one night at dinner. He felt like we had to know how to use something other than our claws.

Luckily he even showed me how to use them.

I crept along the hallways, making sure to make as little noise as possible. Then I came upon a set of double doors that led to the insides of the mall. It was trashed; blood and glass were everywhere as the stores and restaurants were all broken into. Garbage laid everywhere and was starting to smell. It just made tracking them easier. I just followed the clean part that the bag made from dragging on the ground. Soon I came up to what was the food court. There was about twenty men seated and one other male that had the slightly moving bag.

"My men, we have survived long enough! Somebody asked me how the race was going to survive if we were the only men alive. To this I am about to give you an answer!" he yelled as she unzipped the bag.

The woman sat there, terrified. The men cheered. "I have a question sir!" one soldier asked.

"Yes, what is it Jacobs? Speak freely."

"Who gets a turn?" he asked as the other men chuckled.

"Well seeing as how there are twenty three of us, she can do with an hour of sleep." The man said, to which everyone cheered to all except one man.

"Sir! This is wrong, we can't let her live like this!" he said as he stood up.

"Shut up Bunny, we don't need your shit. Gentlemen, restrain him." The closest ones grabbed him and tied him to a pole, removing his weapons and gagged him.

Seeing as the only way out of this one was through violence, I did what best came to mind. I howled. I screeched the signature cry of the Hunter. The one that let his prey know that they were going to be hunted, and that they were going to die. The laughter stopped as the men looked around for the sound, all of them reaching for their guns. I put my hood over my head and started to run as they dispersed, their leader shouting orders as the soldiers started running through the halls. He tied the female to a support post with the nice soldier and grabbed his gun, looking with his men.

Now it is the time for me to hunt.

Great thing about the mall is that there were many places to hide. The soldiers had to search every nook and cranny in order to find me. They also made a lot of noise; apparently they realized that there were two things wrong. One was that their two companions on the roof were killed, second is that there was a Hunter in the mall. They were mistaken on the second point. I was more than a hunter, more than just human. I am Damien Aaron Parker, Alpha Hunter. I smiled as I thought I could say that when I killed one of them.

I ran into a bookstore and slid into one of the aisles. A soldier was creeping along the shelves, one hand on his radio and the second on his pistol. "Stevenson, anything in the Chapters?" someone asked the man.

I made sure he had the 'talk' button pressed before I screeched and ripped out his throat. For a few minutes more there was a multitude of swears coming from the radio that Stevenson dropped. Two more soldiers came into the store. They split up, ever alert and moved with training. Training that was effective against humans. In kept his back to the aisles along the wall as he scanned the inner ones, all he took was a well placed straight thrust from my claws to break his spinal cord and a bullet to the head. The other soldier noticed the shot and stood still a few aisles over with his hand on his radio asking over and over again if the contact was down. With a stroke of my claws it was him instead. I ran out of the store and leaped over the gap on the second floor to the third, to which a soldier on the first saw.

I ran ahead of him to the stairs that were beside a place called 'Kernels'. He reached the top and proceeded to the railing in which he saw me jump from. I crept up behind him and pushed him over the edge. He didn't die when he hit the floor, and I didn't want him too. His legs fell out from under him in audible snaps. His screams of pain drew another soldier into my range as I silently dropped three floors and onto the shoulders of the military man. I broke his neck before placing a bullet into the fear-stricken face of the broken-legged man. I found a fist sized piece of metal on one of the bodies. My face smiled as I realized what it was.

Four other soldiers came and merged along the bodies. They grabbed their fallen teammate's ammo and spun around, their backs to each other and looking in every direction. Unfortunately not up as I dropped the grenade into the middle of their circle. One soldier took notice and cried "Oh shi-" before getting thrown a few feet and being shredded by shrapnel.

I quickly ran through the hallways, I found another man who fired at me with a pistol, but was shaking too much to aim properly. His blood splashed along my sweater as I cut him down without stopping. I also saw a pair who stood with their backs against the railing on the third floor. I grabbed the assault rifle from my back and one quick jump up I landed on the railing right behind the soldier on the left side. I gripped his neck and raised my rifle to the other who noticed me up there. I fired a few rounds into him before he could get a shot off. I then quickly dragged his friend over the edge flipping him over, and landing on his chest. I had already messed his insides with the landing but made sure I killed him as I jumped off of his body to a man responding to the commotion on the second floor. I clawed his neck out before jumping out of the way of _another _man firing at me. The dead soldier's body took the bullets as I jumped back, giving him a burst of bullets to the chest and head.

I took a minute to catch my breath before running to another store to ambush the remaining... seven soldiers. Another lone man walked into the store and I took him out very much like his friend in the bookstore, except I just broke his neck instead. I did notice that he had a different uniform than the rest of his friends. It was heavier and sounded pretty solid. I put it on me. Now I felt like I couldn't make a third floor jump. Even with these heavy boots on I could only clear the second floor rail if I used my momentum and grabbed the rail. Didn't matter though, not for what I was planning.

I ran to the nearest soldier with my gun out as if I was going to tell him something. He kept asking where the Hunter was. All I did was smile, realizing that it was a mistake in doing so. His eye flashed and then was terror in his eyes as I pounced onto him. I used my claws to make sure his stomach was having an 'out of body' experience. I chuckled to myself. That was quite clever. Alright five left to go. This was fun!

I rolled another grenade to a man crouched behind a bench. He just stared at it as it rolled between his legs. There was also another man who was back at the group of bodies that were blown apart. He was just crying and praying to some god of his. He looked up at me and reminded me of Jessica when I first saw her. Except this man wasn't beautiful, he was trash. He was also clearly out of his mind. I think he saw me kill all of the men that surrounded him. He only asked one question as he jangled a bunch of metal necklaces around his hand, "Are you the Reaper?"

I smiled at him. What a funny question to ask. "Not really" I said calmly to him before shooting him in between the eyes.

I felt a burst of pain as a shotgun sounded. I landed on my back and faced one of the men who dragged the girl inside here. I pretended to be dead. He took out his knife and was about to cut me when I took a shotgun from the ground and shot him. In the face, where he couldn't wear any armour like I was.

I took off the armour and ran to the nearest sporting goods store. I grabbed a camouflage hooded sweater from the rack; it said "Toronto Raptors" and had a picture of what I guessed was a raptor holding a basketball. I wondered if they were any good. I also found some athletic tape and wrapped it around my forearms and legs of the army fatigues that I kept. I took off the boots and kept the boots of another dead soldier, they were lighter. I heard gunfire from the food court.

I calmly walked into the court. If the captives were dead it wasn't going to do any good running in blind. Instead I walked in as if nothing was wrong. The man that was there stood at the end of the hall about fifty metres away from me with what appeared to be a long knife and a pistol. Seeing as he was in a combative stance I assumed the same, and bent my knees, placing my hands on the floor and growled. "Who in the bloody hell are you? You killed all my men you sick fuck!"

The woman started screaming as I started to run. The good soldier just sat there as if he accepted his fate.

I ran to the wall and ran along it; he fired a few shots before I jumped off and landed on the other side, dropping my rifle so I could move better. I realized I barely made a sound thanks to my clothes barely moving at all. Now I realized how hunters could be so silent. They certainly were a bit more intelligent than the other infected. He fired a few more shots before one hit my leg, causing me to crash to the floor. I figured it was now or never as I ran at him. He fired his last two shots which connected with my right arm. I reached him and clawed the knife out of his hand. The woman stopped screaming at this point when she realized I wasn't headed to her.

I pushed him to the floor and I placed the palm of my hand on his forehead. "My name is Damien Aaron Parker, I am an Alpha Hunter. I am something more than human, more than infected. I have won, and now it is your turn to die."

That was the most bad-ass thing I had ever said or done. Even more impressive than me inserting my claws into his eyes and ripping out his face. I moved over to the captives after cleaning my claws on the dead leader's clothes. The woman started to struggle. I turned to the soldier, he had a dirty face, but it was hardened by combat. He was cleanly shaven and had short brown hair and had white skin, but not pale like mine. He didn't seem like he wanted to kill me. Good judgement on his part. "My name, as you might have guessed is Damien. I am not a mindless Hunter as you can see and have decided to rescue this poor woman from your comrades. However you seemed certainly and genuinely concerned for her proper well-being so I am deciding to spare your life and show you more humanity than the humans did. Which is quite ironic since I also killed all your squad-mates. I wish to tell you that I think it was a good choice sine they would have pretty much would have killed you and her in the end anyways. So I ask you. Will you come with me? Will you forgive me?"

"I fucking didn't want to be in the army in the first place. Those guys were pigs and I hated Gibbs. I accept and forgive." He said plainly and slightly relieved.

"Good 'cause if you are lying I'll kill you. So will my friends. Now young girl, will you come with me? I have a safe place that no infected can get to." I said turning to her.

"I'll come Damien," she said as a smile tried to form on her face. "Thanks for saving me."

I was startled at their immediate trust in me, especially after I killed all those people. Maybe they had just given up and accepted their fate. Maybe being through an apocalypse had changed their thinking to "whoever is an enemy of my enemy is my friend" set of rules. Maybe they truly trusted me. Humans certainly do surprise me at almost every encounter. They were as mysterious as can be. "My name is George Cleo Lapin. I used to be a member of the Royal Canadian Army, 23rd regiment. We were stationed here at the beginning of infection to secure an area, but we were killed down to what you saw and finished the job. I'll help you in any way I can."

"Lapin... wait! That is where the bunny comes from doesn't it?" I asked as my mind came up with the definition for the word.

"Uhhh... yeah. Wait Parlez-vous français?" he asked as I undid the rope.

My mind went lightheaded as I responded _I do, at least I think so_ in another language, I guess it was French. My mind burst into pain for a few more seconds before I went to untie the woman. "My name is Rebecca Oliveira, wish we could have met in better circumstances, and with you not being a Hunter and all."

I just shrugged my shoulders and responded with a "Well, shit happens" Both George and I grabbed a pack and loaded as much spare clips, bullets and shells as possible before leading Rebecca out of the mall through the roof access. We ran through the streets as fast as we could, eventually we got to the base of the apartments with no trouble at all. I guess we were lucky avoiding the infected packs. I saw a table there with a sign that read 'Talk for service' and had a radio beside it. I picked it up and spoke into it. "Hello is anyone up there?"

"Ah Hunta', it must be you! I'll send the lift right away mon! Is there be anything you be takin' up witcha?"

"A few survivors, so bring Jessica too. You'll get them up with her help."

"Okay mon, we be lowering it now!"

Soon enough I saw the lift descend down the building. Unfortunately that was when a few groups of infected decided to attack. Me and George took defensive positions around Rebecca and open fired at the two groups headed our way. We were able to hold them off as the lift hit the ground, all three of us got on and I rang the bell as the wooden frame was slowly brought up higher and higher above the streets. Soon there was just a few infected below use, raising their arms trying to reach us in vain. I heard a screech as a Hunter jumped at us. A deafening blast went off in George and my ear as Rebecca fed another shell into a shotgun. Apparently she knew how to use one. "Now that we all have guns I have to ask you to do one thing. There is a girl at the top of the building bringing us up. Her name is Jessica Miskovsky and she, like me, is different. She is what you guys call a Witch, and she looks like one too, just don't shoot her and everything will be fine. She thinks as clear as you or me okay?"

They nodded and Rebecca added "Nothing will get weirder than this day. This is after fighting zombies for two weeks."

I smiled a toothy grin. "You haven't met Alex yet."

George chuckled "What is he a Smoker that gives good French kisses?"

I laughed back "Nope, he's Jamaican."

---------

There you have it! I wish to note that I have nothing but the upmost highest respect for the Canadian and American Military, but something apart from infected had to give Damien a challenge and some wacked out guns seemed to be a good one. Just like _28 Days / Months Later _proved, even the army are just as human/inhuman as the rest of us are/can be.

Hope you liked the sex ^_-

Longest chapter EVER. 7360


	6. Light

This was supposed to be a joke chapter, but I decided to give it something a bit more. To those authors offended by any remarks made by my character's comments, not that they are merely reflection of personal opinion. I feel like I have been wavering on my style as Damien matures, therefore I'm going to be writing like I did in the first few chapters. I'll be concentrating on that.

I do not own Left 4 Dead. I do own Damien and Jessica's identities, as well as Alexander, George and Rebecca.

..:: Evolution Chapter 6 – Light::..

"If you aren't failing at something, you aren't succeeding at anything."

-Jonathan "Damien Darkside" DesRoches

Alright, this is certainly awkward. The silence is killing me. This was our first meal together as a group, why is does it feel like I'd rather be fighting infected than sitting in this room. I poked my chicken a bit more as I analyzed the situation. Jessica is looking at Rebecca who is looking at me. I can feel her eyes boring their way through my hood. I put my hood up earlier because I felt like it was some kind of cover to dodge the awkwardness of the situation. Just focus on the carrots. Just focus on the orange pieces of veggies on my plate. Veggies are good for you. It apparently helps with your night vision. Like I needed help with my night vision. Don't feel awkward at all.

This was not working!

"Now I know that Alex is from around here, but where do you two come from?" I blurted out as I took off my hood.

"Oh," Rebecca paused for a second, "I come from London."

"No fucking way mon. Thata be tha England one girl?" Alex asked as he slightly relaxed in his chair.

"I get that all the time, rather I got that all the time. No it is about an hour between Toronto and Sarnia. Of course now that there aren't any cops the trip would be faster in a car."

"London..." I said, reflecting on one of my first memories "is there a Fanshawe College there?"

"Why yes there is! I didn't know that a Hunter has a college degree!" she said laughing.

"Nope, I think I attended school there, in the Business Marketing course. I can't remember anything before being a Hunter."

The room went silent again until George spoke up, "You really don't remember anything before infection?"

"Nah, well in a way I did. I know how to multiply, divide, and calculate max/min charts on profits and cost. I can read, write and talk. _I can even speak French apparently._" I finished as the words came from my mouth.

"Trust me; it is weird hearing it from him. He can't remember a thing, like how pineapple tastes like but if you gave him a math book, he'll probably fill it out. " Jessica added.

"What about you Jessica? Do you remember anything?" George inquired.

She lightly brushed her hair back with a claw. "I do remember bits and pieces. I remember people who might have been my parents, my friends, or my enemies. I remember seeing movies and watching television. I even remember Facebook. Funny how those things are so pointless now but they were life and death then."

Alex laughed, "Oh man Witchy, I totally rememba Facebook. Amy is gettin' her hair done. Jake is gettin' a new paira shoes now. Look at my new tattoo mon! I loved tha ting but hated it as well. I really don't miss it."

"I miss the internet." George said.

"I do too in a weird way," Rebecca agreed "I miss my fanfictions."

"Fanfictions?" I asked.

"Yeah, basically you find something you like, such as a movie, a show or book. Then you make your own story about that using either your own characters or the ones in the book." George explained, "What are you looking at Jessica? My sister was into them!"

"Sure they were George, I bet she was." Jessica poked.

"Alright, I read a few back in two thousand and one, so sue me."

"What was your favourite type of story then Rebecca?" I asked her.

I loved stories; ever since I learned to read I've been spending my time reading and imagining things. The first few books I read I actually thought they were real. Then I realized that there was no way a boy with a scar could make fire come out of a stick or fly on brooms.

"Coincidentally enough, I loved zombie survival stories."

"No fucking way." George said, slightly shocked,

"Actually it is probably the only reason why I am alive. I just locked myself away after grabbing as much food as I can. I found a gun on a dead police officer and I used an axe that my landlord had in the back."

"You know what be buggin' be about stories based offa someting?"

"What's that?"

"It be when they totally make up a characta dat doesn't make any sense to tha lore of tha world. Like putting a vampiya inna story dat doesn't burn inna sunlight or needing tha blood and all."

"Or a Pokémon that is of a new element." George added.

"You are fucking kidding me. You still like Pokémon? An army guy?" Rebecca said as she coughed, choking on a bit of corn.

"Great RPG. Fuck you."

"So, you are saying that if this world was all a story based off the zombie stories that you read Rebecca, what would that make me and Jessica?"

There was a moment of silence before Alex spoke up. "You know Damien, dat be a good question mon. Ya see, dis be da way I see it okay? We have zombies, fine wit dat. You have your other infected to spice it up. Cool wit dat too. Now ya see there musta been some people in which the infection don't be all power on. Dat makes sense for Jessica, who can remember tings. She be tough as fuck too even if she was a full witchy-Witch so her being what she is be fine wit me. Does tat make sense with chall?"

Everyone nodded on agreement.

"Now wit chu Damien, tat be taking it from a different direction mon. Ya see instead of the virus taking ova you, you bonded wit it, or it took you ova and changed. On one end you are human with betta powas, on ta otha hand you are the virus tat has evolved inta a new type of infected. One tat can tink and use his brain and all. Now one is wit memory, so I doubt it be a first idea I had. You be more along ta second."

"Or he can be both" Rebecca spoke up.

"Now woman, ya best be saying whatcha tinking cause this be more interestin' than lotsa lights and herb."

"What if he was a mix in between the two? What if he was, as you said, an infected, but when it evolved it merged with his DNA in order to adapt to it's new surroundings? I'm assuming you got shot at so in response to almost dying, he evolved into something else. Something that could learn from it's surroundings in an attempt to survive, only caused by his DNA structure in a response to death?"

This was making my brain hurt, but it kind of made sense to me. "Question still posed."

"As long as ya don't be takin a tank by yourself ten der be no complaints from me. You are allowed into our story." Alex said as he lightly punched me in the arm.

"Now one thing has been bothering me about the back stories here. I don't get why they just chained you to the wall? All you did was object to him." I said.

"Whatcha be talkin' bout now Damien?"

I filled in everyone of the situation. I did before but I described George's part a bit more clearly. "Then he just spoke up and bam! Up against a pole."

"Alright now you see that we are all immune right?" George asked.

"Yeah, I doubt that the water treatment plants can deal with infected water, so I'm clean."

"I been bitton, I be clean as a whistle"

"Now you see that's the thing, you aren't clean." George said raising his finger "you are all just carrying the virus inside you. You are all Carriers. Now we were supposed to save everyone, we even had the mall pretty locked up tight. Now somebody fucked, or shared a cigarette with a non-immune and the shit hit the fan, within ten hours half of use were dead and most of us were wounded. Now Gibbs goes nuts, starts talking to us about the Carriers. He referred to them as ticking time bombs. Now everyone in our platoon except for me and Stevenson thought that this wasn't going to go the right way. We start arguing with Gibbs about treating suspected Carriers in any new way. He ignores us, and a few of the guys beat up Stevenson. He sends me and a few men on a supply run. We get back, all the civvies are dead.

"Now he said it was a riot over food water and guns, but we had plenty of all. Despite the jokes the Canadian Army is pretty good with supplying its infantry. One thing goes to another, he starts popping anybody with bite wounds or big scratches. Says he's keeping us clean, making sure we survive. Then he says we must find more supplies. We start hitting stores, marketplaces etc. One night, after seeing a building explode, some guy says that he wished he was in that building"

"Why would he wanta be onna burnin' building?" Alex said, a cigarette burning between his fingers without him taking a drag.

"Because he said there weren't any women. What was there left to do except wait to die. The human species was finished, the only women left were either infected or Witches. So then they found Jessica, I spoke up, they chained me up. Damien saved me. I'm in his debt because they would have killed me. Since there are way too little people left in this world, I just decided to trust you man. Who would have thought that the infected I feared the most saved my ass?" George finished.

"I was just in shock when I followed you guys. I had left to go on a supply run when your army guys grabbed me. Since you didn't want to rape me and Damien saved me I decided to just go with you. I was a bit of a recluse in the Old World, but I missed human contact so much I almost went stir crazy. I might be crazy being with you guys. Not much of a force to be reckoned with. A pot-smoking Jamaican, a soldier with no army, I was in school for being a nurse and I spent way too much time on the internet, he's a Hunter with no memory and she is a girl who's recent past is filled with emotional issues."

I thought about that for a while. That was a pretty dark thing for her to say! I am more than a hunter with no memory! "Now that is bullshit!" I said growling, slightly scaring Rebecca "I am more than just a hunter with no memory! I'm a hunter that can learn and think, not to mention I don't fear death after all, I died once! Jessica is more than a girl with issues; she is an amazing fighter and my first friend I love her! Alex is a fucking engineer with a over-active imagination! Bunny there is a soldier with more fighting experience than anybody combined, not to mention more gun and training that can be extremely helpful in the field. Plus you got a partial degree in medicine! You know about chemical equations and medical things that would just boggle my mind! You almost blew it with the theory of my existence!"

Everyone was silent, then Alex took the lead. "I tink that Damien be right now. We all 'ave tings tat we be good at. Plus we all have survived till now, why not be more? We can outlast this infection! Who is wit me?"

"I am, I'm an infected, and I am seen as a Victim of this infection. I'm going to stop being a victim. I'm going to be a Survivor. I'm going to live!" Jessica said, clicking her claws against the plate of food.

"I'm in. You guys are decent folk. I'll stick with you. As for the army... c'est la vie... c'est la guerre!"

"Alright! Alright! We'll be fine, hell, I don't even know how to get out of here anyways."

"It be about a fifteen story drop Becky," Alex joked, already finding a nickname for the new girl already.

I was happy with myself. I continued to listen in and talk to the rest of the group. I like that fact: we are now a group. We are going to be great! It is nice having new friends! Alex git up from the table and said he was going to his workshop, George said he'd like to see it. I walked to the roof to see the moon. Jessica started cleaning and Rebecca continued to finish her meal.

I sat outside a few minutes later. The air was cool and crisp, the stars were out and I just laid bac on the couch we kept up there. I just liked sitting there and thinking. I thought about Jessica and how good she looked last night. I thought about the stars, and where they were in the darkness. I thought of Rebecca and George and how they were going to fit in with Jessica, Alex and I. I hoped they would. I got shot saving them. I don't like getting shot.

All we need now was a plan and more tools and we could outlast this whole thing! So thinking happy thoughts I went to my room, which still had glass by the window. I looked to the beach picture and smiled. I looked at my first hoodie and pants; I had them nailed to the wall after I washed them.

I jumped onto the bed and curled up. I was tired. So tired. I needed sleep. Sleep is good. Jessica is good. I love...

_It is time to start looking away from the darkness and look into the light._

---------

Alright I know it was shorter than usual but the Holiday season has me working _all the fucking time_. The only day I have had off was when I released the last chapter. I work two jobs and the next day off is Christmas Eve. You might get a present. I thank you all for pushing my hits over the 1000 mark. Review and read! IT IS ALL FOR YOU! Next up: Explosive fun with a great L4D weapon!


	7. Scavenge

Alrighty! Seventh chapter! Go me!

The following chapter deals with production of explosives. I am not encouraging you all make real pipe bombs. This is for the sake of the fiction. DO NOT TRY THIS SHIT AT HOME. If you blow your arm off... I'll laugh, hard.

..:: Evolution Chapter 7 – Scavenge ::..

"I can choose either to be a victim of the world or an adventurer in search of treasure. It's all a question of how I view my life."

— Paulo Coelho

I awoke to a pleasant smell, the smell of citrus. I loved that smell; it only came from one person. Which means that she is right be... now! I opened my eyes to see her face, her loose white hair over her eyes. Why was she in my bed? We didn't do anything... oh. Hey, if she wants to sleep in the same bed as me, like Alex says: "It's all good brotha'"

Speaking of Alex, I wondered what he was thinking of today. I gently moved out of the bed trying not to wake Jessica up. Luckily she only stirred a little before relaxing. I lightly kissed her on the forehead and moved the blanket farther up on her body; she just cuddled more into it. Fuck I'm lucky.

I left the room, putting a hooded sweater. Man I loved these things. I didn't even know why. I just loved the zip up ones too. The ones that you had to put over your head were annoying and sometimes too tight along the neck. They were warm and all awesome with their cover. I felt more like a hunter with the hood on.

I walked up the stairs to Alex's workshop. For once, it wasn't in immaculate condition. Cans that once had liquids inside were on the floor, they clattered along my feet as I accidentally kicked them. Instantly there was movement from one corner of the room. "Aw fuck!" somebody said.

George got up from between a few two-by-fours and a tarp. He let out a loud belch and rubbed his temples. "He looked up at me. "Ah Damien, Alex is... somewhere. He has something he wants to show you. We were up all night trying to think up of... things.. and... stuff... I'm going to bed. Where is my room?"

"Any door that doesn't have the numbers peeled off. That is how we claim our rooms."

"Thanks man..." he said before he stumbled into the hallway like... well pretty much a zombie.

I walked over to what Alex called his 'office' which was just the last room in the hallway. Of the ten apartments to the floor he kept them for various uses. He tore down the walls between a few of them to make more space to work in. I saw him asleep on his chair, papers scattered all around and weighed down with cans of pop and beer. I picked up one that said 'Dr. Pepper' and opened it. Alex's eyes fluttered open. "Hey, Damien. Good mornin' to ya mon!"

"It is after noon."

"Whateva' I gots someting ta show ya mon. Someting you'll like." He said as he shuffled around papers.

"Now I know you aren't good at construction, but ya good at scavin sheet from tha city. So this is what I be wanting ya ta get," he moved the cans around until he found what he wanted.

"Now ya know how tha infected follow loud sound right mon?"

"Uhhh... yeah."

"Well take a look at this now and tell me whatcha tink."

I took the drawing from his hand and examined it. It looked like a pipe, with a fuse at one end and probably filled with explosives. There was wiring all around it. I wondered what that was for. "It looks like a stick of dynamite, what you blowing up now? Another building?"

"No ya tick fuck. I be blowin up tha infected! Tink of it, if we can get them to go in one area, we can take out a lot of them and maybe we can help wit da scavvin' it be getting mighty cramped up here."

"Two things. One, you got five floors. Two, how are you going to get the infected into one area?"

"First off mon, that is comin off a guy who can come and go as he please. I can't go anywhere without tha infected munchin on me. Second we needed a loud noise to distract them."

"So what do we do? Point and shout hoping they go for the bomb?"

"No mon, we take buzzars and we attach it to tha pipe. It make a loud noise that infected follow, group around then boom! No more zombies mon! Tink of where we can go now that we could get fiapowa that we can make! All ya do it light tha fuse, I'll separate tha wiring wit someting that you can pull and beep beep beep. Boom. Pobably a fire alarm is what can be used."

"Alright, what do we need?"

"We need a meetin' is what we need."

"Are you guys going out too?"

"Well wit a soljah and anotha girl and everyting we need more supplies than what we got, bombs or no mon. We only be heading to tha mall to get what the army had stored ten we come back."

"Sounds good, how you guys getting up or down?"

"Well, even though you barricaded tha main floor mon, you neglected the parking garage underneath."

"We all agreed that it was too large to barricade."

"Actually ya could, but I needed it for a specific reason mon. Wit da garage, we can take tha stairs to the first floor. From der, we then use the elevata shaft ta climb up to this floor!"

"You guys. Climbing fifteen floors. On a rope. In an elevator shaft." I said with disbelief.

"Rememba when ya went to tha store and got climbing gear for the pulley on tha roof mon?"

I agreed. It was one of the materials he needed. "Well I made a similar ting with tha elevata. Now we got a way to come from the first to tha fifteenth! Me and Geroge be riggin it last night. He stayed up ta put tha final touches on it!"

"Fucking A"

So after a few hours and a small breakfast, we called everyone to the "meeting room". Essentially something Alex and I made before breakfast. We took everything out except for a long table. By 'take everything out' I mean 'tossed it out the damn window'. Everything else we moved to the bedroom of the apartment. Soon we had a place where we could meet. There were a few lanterns on the table, in case the power ever permanently went out, which also needed to be addressed. Along the walls were maps of Ontario, Mississauga, Toronto and a few of the malls that were there. Pretty much any information that we could find that was useful we posted up there. We, meaning me, got a new laptop from the electronics store nearby. We found that we couldn't find any Wi-Fi or other sources for connecting to the internet.

Jessica was the first one there, she was wearing a pair of tight black jeans and a shirt with a dinosaur named 'Yoshi' on it. Next was Rebecca, wearing blue jeans and a tank top, switching to a more practical type of dress. George came in looking a bit more... well like a soldier. He was wearing camo jeans and a white stained t-shirt that showed his arms that had a few tattoos on his built arms. His dog tags shined off his chest. I found it strange how I might be stronger than him and that Jessica was. George was the only one that had any gear built for carrying weapons. He had his pistol in its holster while everyone else's was in a pocket, stuffed in the waistband of their jeans or crudely attached with a strap.

That had to change too. We needed a better way to carry our weapons, not to mention I was the best shooter on the team apart from George. Something with my newfound talents improved my reflexes and senses. I didn't hit headshots all the time, but they were more controlled.

Now it was time to start the meeting. We started with everyone putting a green pin where they raided, or searched. We put blue pins in areas where we thought there were either useful supplies or other interesting things. Areas in which we thought there might be high concentrations of zombies we labelled 'danger zones' in red. These consisted of areas where a large amount of zombies could come out of and overwhelm us. Examples would be openings in the subway stations in Toronto, where unknown numbers of zombie lay in the dark and could spring from or other landmarks like the Air Canada Center, the CN Tower (which could be seen from our building) or large unsecure malls like Square One. With a yellow pin, George posted all known army locations that were overrun where we could get supplies.

"Speaking of weapons, we need an idea on where we could get materials for explosives that we can make ourselves. Any suggestions?"

Almost immediately Rebecca grabbed a pencil and started writing stuff down. "Umm, I take it womon thacha got an idea den"

"Yeah gimme a few more seconds, I remember this from the internet but I forget a part of the formula, now the double bonds would create..." she mumbled, along with about twenty other words that I couldn't understand.

After about five minutes she had a bunch of ingredients written down and scratched out. "Alright! You will all love me for this. Now what we need are tree simple components in order to make a simple explosive known as black powder. We need Potassium Nitrate, Sulphur and Charcoal."

"Charcoal. Really?" George asked.

"Yes, powdered preferably but definetly charcoal. Alex would you be able to hook up a ball mill to grind the ingredients? Like a cylinder to grind up powders and such."

"I've seen a ting like dat. I'll getcha whatcha need when we get back."

"What the hell is potassiumiumtrate stuff?" George asked.

"It is commonly referred to as Saltpeter. You can pick that up along with sulphur-based chemicals at Rona or Home-Depot."

"Oh, I've used that stuff to take out roots at base. We can do that. So who goes for what?"

Jessica spoke up, "I say we all go, we all have guns and are going for more guns. Since we are getting other supplies it makes sense to travel together right? Four people with guns and me with my claws should be able to defend all angles right?"

"Three could do it, with you getting those that are too close. Damien could cover from the rooftops; that would take his advantage to climb and run into consideration. He can also do light recon so we might be able to avoid large hordes."

It sounded like a good plan.

So an hour later, when the sun was high in the sky and a few shadows were up, we were walking along the streets of Mississauga to the mall. Everything was going smoothly to plan, and we were making good time. Even Rebecca commented on how well we were doing. "Man, I got to say, we are doing pretty well so far."

I love being right.

Then I caught a scent, one that I haven't really picked up on in a while... it smelled like Alex but different somehow. They continued to walk along the street as I walked along the rooftops. It was getting closer. "Guys, I think something might be co-"

I was cut off as a long, sticky rope coiled itself around me, pinning my arms to my sides. Soon I was being dragged along the roof, then into the streets. I landed on a car which thankfully didn't have an alarm, then was carried past my companions "Smoker!" Rebecca yelled.

No, you think?

"Keep ya voice down womon! Ya wanna attract ev'ry infectid for a coula blocks?"

George kneeled on one knees and put a three-round burt from his rifle into the Smoker that was on top of a deli roof. All I heard was a few cracks and a light 'woomph', then the tongue loosened. All was quiet, then we heard the cries of the horde. We quickly scanned the area, we were in the middle of an intercection, on one corner was the deli, another was a music store. A little bit down the road was a church. Deciding that the place of refuge for the holy might be a good was to kill the dammned. Hey that was kinda cool to say. Concentrate. Alright, "To the church! We can defend from there!"

Without any delay we ran straight to the church. It was an old cathedral that towered over a few of the buildings around here. A large clock tower was on it, raised all on stones. We were about to run through the door when a group of five infected burst out. Four were easily dispatched but the other tackled Rebecca to the ground. Before I could react she punched it in the face and picked up her pistol from her pocket, firing a round into its head, splashing blood all over her sweater, which for some stupid reason didn't have a hood.

We ran into the archway into the church where a few sandbags were piled at the doorway in a vain attempt to block the swarming infected by those that defended it before us. We had very little time to set up any proper defence. After a quick scan of the insides, it was what I remembered a church should look like. Strange. Large stained glass windows were made in the stone, barred from the outside and partially blocked with candelabras and assorted church junk. The smell was horrible as the rotting bodies were laying along the pews of those who wanted refuge with their God. I saw a statue of a man that appeared to be nailed to a cross. I wondered what the significance behind him was, and why people would worship a man bolted to a cross. Time to do that later."Jessica! Put those benches at the door to block it! Alex! See if there is another way out of her and make sure it is closed off. Rebecca and George, see if the windows are sufficiently barred! I'll take the bell tower!"

Everyone got to work; we had less than five minutes before the infected got here. I heard loud crashing and the breaking of wood as Jessica ripped pews from the ground, that would only attract more infected but we had no choice. I jumped to the second floor balcony instead of taking the stairs and started running up the bell tower. My boots were kicking shell casings out of the way as I was closer to reaching the top of the tower. I moved out of the way of a few dead infected that were laying on the stairs. I reached to top in what seemed to be a very little amount of time. First thing I was was the view, apart from being a zombie apocalypse, it looked decent. Second was a dead human, not infected leaning on one of the stone supports. His head had a bullet wound in it, probably made by the gun he had still stuck in his hand. He had a notebook beside him, as well as a scoped rifle, a few bottles that had some kind of liquid inside and was topped with a cloth, and a box of ammo. Clearly the box was army issue but it didn't seem like he was military.

I looked down to the cries of the infected and picked up my walkie-talkie. "George, are you there?"

"Yeah we are pretty much good to go, how many of them are there?"

I looked down at the intersection, groups of infected were headed towards our position. "Looks like about fifty, maybe more infected. Depends how much are also attracted by the fight. I got a rifle around here and my own so I'll see what I can do okay?"

"Got it, update me when you can."

"Good luck George."

"Good hunting Damien. I'm out."

I looked through the scope of the rifle that was here, it was a bolt action hunting rifle. Good, George taught me the theory of it, time to put it to use. Since there were so many infected I didn't bother with targets at first. I just fired into the crowd and infected would die. Some stumbled back and were knocked to the ground, crushed by the infected running over them. I was one jump across a building and I knew it was my lesser cousin. I followed him until he paused and then shot through the Hunter's chest. To make sure he was dead I shot another bullet into his head. Soon I heard gunfire from below as the infected reached the range of the church.

I heard fists on wood as the infected smashed their fists on the wooden pews. The ones that couldn't reach the door pushed against the infected that were there, causing them to push against the pews and forward to their death. I had to find something that could slow the infected or make them stop attacking. I looked around. Dead guy. Box of Ammo I was getting bullets from. Notebook of relative interest. Bottles of unknown liquid with a cloth. Big ass bell. Bottles! I looked back at the stairs, there were burn marks and shattered glass all over them. I picked one up and looked through the dead body. I was able to find a lighter in his jeans pocket. Clumsily using my claws to flick the lighter to light, I was able to light the cloth on the bottle and throw it into the crowd at the base of the church. Instantly I heard screaming as the infected started to burn. Those that were running to the door caught on fire and the ones on fire lit those that weren't. "Damien! What the hell did you do? The barricade is burning! We can't hold it back!"

Oh shit.

"Retreat to the second floor, use shotguns at the two spiral staircases. The burning infected will fall we just need time. If all else fails go up the bell tower to me. Damien out."

"We copy, we're Oscar Mike."

"What?"

"Oscar Mike, O for Oscar, M for Mike. Gimme a sec." He was interrupted by a few blasts of a shotgun, "Therefore Oscar Mike, On the Move. I'll teach you military terms later. Now kill the fuckers!"

I grabbed the two remaining bottles and jumped straight down four flights of stairs, avoiding the cord that the bell was attached to. I landed with a thud, shaking the thick beams. The upper balcony had two spiral staircases. Alex and Jessica were taking care of the left and Rebecca was blasting away zombies with George. I jumped to the edge and launched myself across the church, landing on the man nailed to the cross. My arms cut into his head as he appeared to be wearing a crown of thorns. Who the hell wore that? I wiped a bit of blood off on his chest before sitting on the cross. I lit one bottle and used that to ignite the second, and then I threw both at the bases of the stairs. Burning and dying zombies littered the ground as their flesh burned away.

After a few minutes, movement stopped. The door was obscured by a thick layer of smoke caused by the burning bodies and dead smokers. A thick-armed brute we named a Charger lay burning, having smashed into a set of pews. A Hunter was skewered on a candelabrum. Our group sat down to catch a breath and reload all their weapons. I ran up the stairs to obtain the man's notebook. I loved reading, but this would be an especially interesting piece of post-apocalyptic literature. Not like people were making new books.

After a bit of a rest, and clearing out of the church to get real fresh air, we continued on our way. Soon we were at the mall. We used the ropes that were left behind to scale the walls and soon we made our way to the inside.

"Holy shit mon! This be a fucking gold mine ya hear! Lookit all this! Ammo, grenades, and guns!" Alex cheered into the empty mall."

George was silent as he filled military bags full of ammo. "Only take guns that are needed. We don't have transportation back to Home Base."

"Didn't the military have vehicles?" Rebecca asked.

"Yeah but we don't use them because they attracted the infected." George answered.

"Well, why don't we just use one of those vehicles? Of course it would attract the infected but we have enough ammo to take out twenty tanks! Why not have Jessica drive and have the rest of us on defence. They can't easily take a moving vehicle."

I pondered what she said for a moment. "Hey it could work. There is a hardware store at the end of the mall; we could use that to get the chemicals we need. We have a little bit of time too and the horde doesn't know we are here. We can take our time and consider our next move. I wouldn't mind some new clothes and books to read. Plus we can stock on other supplies."

"Sounds like a plan. Let's scavenge! Rather, let's shop!" Jessica said gleefully, giggling a bit.

She seemed in a better mood as Rebecca followed her. "You boys can do what you like; we are going to have some fun."

George looked at me and shrugged. "As long as we are out by next morning, I'm not using vehicles at night. Let's go get some stuff."

---------

Alright, now we got a bit more action! Next chapter will be more fun in terms of humour, and then it gets a bit more srs in hur! We'll be able to make pipe bombs next chapter too! Look online if you want to make your own.


	8. Shopping

8 x 8 = N64, the best console ever. Speaking of which, my 360 died. So I've been emulating Nintendo 64 games while I send it off for repairs. Man I missed Zelda.I've gotten e-mails. Actual e-mails about my story, not just PMs. I'd like to thank everyone who has reviewed Evolution and encourage more people to review as well. Even a "Great job, can't wait for..." is great to read.

..:: Evolution Chapter 8 – Shopping ::..

"We used to build civilizations. Now we build shopping malls."

— Bill Bryson

"So what do you think of this?" I asked Alex.

"It is anotha sweata mon, you have like, twenty of the tings." Alex replied.

He doesn't understand! This one has a _furry inner lining_. It feels amazing on my skin! It is even lined in the hood with short but smooth... well fur-like material. It feels so warm and fuzzy! It is black with the word 'Hilfiger' on it and during last year it was off for 50%! Wait. Why did I know that? This is really strange. "Alex, what store are we in?"

"Tommy Hilfiga', why?"

"What mall are we in?"

"Square One. Why?"

I took the wallet that I kept on me at all times. It was my connection to who I was. I looked through the cards until I found one that was white and the emblem matched the one on half the clothes. _Damien Parker, Assistant Manager. Tommy Hilfiger, Square One Mississauga. Canada._

Holy shit I worked here.

"Alex, what if I told you that before being a hunter, I was the assistant manager of this particular store."

"I'd say you was a crazy hunta that should lay off tha Docta Peppa mon."

"Then I need to lay off the Dr. Pepper. Look at this."

I gave him the card as I looked around for anything that would give me a bit of my past back. I tore out a few drawers before I noticed a few of the cards laying on the ground. _Damien Parker, Assistant Manager. Tommy Hilfiger, Square One Mississauga. Canada._

This is starting to freak me out. I clawed off a cupboard door and took out what was labelled as a 'Staff Binder'. Flipping through it I found my name along a whole bunch of numbers. I sold a lot of stuff. Hmm the only one that was close was a Curtis of some sort. I ran my claw lightly down all the names. Chloe Anderson, Steve Write, Aldrena Muhhamma-whatever, Jessica Miskovsky, Fred Roderick, Francis-

Whoa, wait a minute. Jessica Miskovsky? Holy fuck what happ.. enn...ed.. oh my head... hey the floor... really comfortable... just sleep for... while... bacon.... Dr. Pepper....

There was a knocking at the door. Why was there a knocking at the door? I am trying to nap here; they shouldn't be knocking at my door. "What is it?"

"Damien, apparently a customer wants to speak with you." Voice is female, who was it? Ah Claire.

"Why?"

"She wants to complain about why a rack of 40% off polos are beside a rack of polos that are regular price."

"Fuck, did you tell her that they are spring items and it is only the winter items on sale?"

"Yes, she still wants to talk to you"

"Told her it isn't up to us where we put the things? Polos are with polos, her fault that she couldn't read the fucking sign?"

"Yes Damien, still wants to talk to you."

"Fucking hell. Alright coming."

I got up off my seat and looked in the monitor for the cameras. Oh there she is, yelling at my staff. Fucking black woman too, oh this was not going to end up well. Alright, time to work.

"Ma'am how may I help you?"

Oh god, she's really actually complaining about the damn shirts. Alright, what to tell the angry bitch now. Hmm, she is really annoying. Okay, so you think it is a bad business policy that we put misleading signs around. Well maybe if the human race weren't fucking idiots we could make the signs more clear that the rack is not on sale. Hey, that girl looks familiar! It's that seasonal hire, Jessica. Damn she's cute, but like, 4 years younger than me. She got me a cool metal guitar keychain for me during the Christmas exchange. She is looking at me, wow she is totally trying not to make it obvious. I love the mirrors in this place. Oh she is totally checking me out. Alright I can play this. Wait, the whale is saying something.

"Then she tells me I have to stand in line again... are you even listening to me?! Are you even fucking paying attention?!"

Alright, do a cool pose. One hand in pocket and use the other for a calm, and cool movements to embellish words so it looks like I'm calmly addressing the customer. Alright, now it just looks like I'm calmly addressing the bitch in the cameras that were focused on my back... now... go! "I'd have to tell you that I actually wasn't listening because this is totally not my problem. The rack beside has a sign and the other one doesn't so that common sense – something you appear to lack – would tell you that they are not on sale. If you were unclear, like some people are, you would go up to the guy that works here that is standing right beside the rack and he would tell you that the rack is indeed, not on sale and that you'd have to find shirts similar to the ones that you were going to buy. Instead you harass my employees, disturb the store and generally make yourself look like a fucking bitch. Please get the fuck out of my store and never come back."

Oh she's mad. She is going to pop! Alright, let her bitch and...

"You can stop there because I clearly don't give a shit. Go ahead and call head office, see if I care. They send me a letter saying that a customer has a complaint and that I have to deal with it. I deal with it by taking a thirty minute nap in the back room while drinking a Dr. Pepper. So get the hell out of my store."

She's throwing the polos across the store, oh nice catch Curtis. She's gone? Alright damage control.

"What I just did to her does not reflect our Tommy goals of customer service. I believe that respect must be shown to every single human being, and that if you don't show it, you should expect the same back. I know that many of you are of different faiths and some, like me, none at all. We can all learn from the golden rule in which Jesus taught us which was basically 'Treat those the way you would like to be treated.' In saying such I would like to treat all of you to 10% additional off all the items you are purchasing today, just say to the cashier that you like apples. That is the codeword. Apples. Thank you and I do hope that you do come again. If you do have a question or a concern, please do so in a respectful manner and we'd help you out. If she didn't scream at people, she'd probably get a shirt free. Treat people how you would like to be treated. Goodbye."

"Damn I love working here!" Jessica said to Claire.

Damn. I love being an assistant manager. Especially with a manager that never shows up most of the time. I'm pretty much the manager of this joint. I wouldn't mind if I actually became the manager too. Was that screaming? Holy shit that guy is punching the hell out of that crazy black woman! Wow, Karma is a bitch isn't it? Isn't it? Isn'...t... iiitttttt?

Karma is a bitch, isn't it?

Fuck where am I? Apparently I am located on the floor. There is a gun in my face. Alex had his gun pointed in my face. Why does he have that fucking gun in my fucking face? "Why do you have that fucking gun in my fucking face?"

"'Cause you were actin' very hunter and very not-Damien" he replied.

"Well, I'm better now, just my mind gaining something like usual. Just about fifty times worse."

"Can ya stand mon?"

"Yeah, I can gimme a sec okay?"

I slowly stood up, my usual headache clearing up as I regained the ability to think. Alright, so that was me. That was the last normal minutes before infection, and I knew Jessica. Is that the reason why she was attracted to me or why I could approach her? What happened to us both? Well obviously we died but... what happened? I looked around at the blood on the floor. I flicked a wet finger on the dried blood running to the back room and raised it to my tongue, to Alex's slight disgust. Fuck him. The blood tasted like mine, but slightly different. It could have been mine before the infection, I only knew what mine tasted like thanks to the slightly more attuned senses that my hunter-self has.

It led to the small kitchen area and further to the stock. It led to a door with a numeric lock, I raised my finger and hit the buttons... 4... 5... 1... the lock clicked. I turned the handle and looked inside. Nobody was here and there weren't any bodies. There was blood, and quite a bit of it pooled near the chair. I looked to the ceiling, the upper panels were torn away with bloodstains around the edges. Either something came in, or something came out.

I think it was me.

I looked at the computer, the monitor was cracked and I couldn't see a third of it, but apparently there was what Alex called a 'U.S.B.' attached to the back. I felt along the back of the computer lightly with my claws, trying not to damage it in any way. I felt a long stick mixed with a rush of heat from the cooling fan in the back of the tower. Removing it I felt something else on the stick. Pulling it free I opened my clawed hand... it looked so familiar...

"Merry Christmas!" Curtis yelled, "Now who the fuck is gonna come under this mistletoe and give me a kiss?"

Wow, he really is drunk. "I don't know about the girls... but what about you Rayne?" I yelled to the only bisexual-probably-gay guy in the stock-room.

"Damien, if I kissed him I'd probably go with females for the rest of my life." Everyone laughed while Curtis called him a fucking faggot, to which Rayne offered him bumsecks if he didn't stop drinking.

_Now who'd ya drag around my door? If I keep it cracked they won't be there no more._

Music was great, I loved Big Wreck. Needs more Nirvana, hey! There is Jessica, time to make an ass of myself. I love doing this. I jumped up onto the table. "Throw the rocks and break the glass!" alright, sweep to the knee and face her, point at her now. "I'll get down on my knees and kiss your ass. 'Cause you're the one to be in my dreams."

Holy shit she got up here with me. "It never was and isn't what it seems." She sang back.

I'll go with this. "My luck is wasted." Hey she's singing with me. "I'm on the run somewhere. My luck is wasted. I'm on the run somewhere!" Alrighty, air guitar solo time. Hey she's taking the minor role, this is fun.

After the song she came up to me and handed me my gift. It was in a tiny box. Better not be a bracelet or some shit. It.. I picked it up. It was a guitar with wings; one side was angel wings while the other was more demonic. It probably was the perfect keychain, metal and everything.

"Like it Damien?"

"Sure do Jessica; I love it so much we're singing Karaoke."

"What?"

What?

The pain was subsiding. I was able to stay standing this time. I opened my hand. The USB was there, lying below a guitar that had two sides. Just like me.

"Damien."

I turned to the door. Alex was standing there, leather trench coat and all.

"Yeah?" I said, rather softly too.

"You okay?" he said, his usual Jamaican accent making me reflex into a smile.

"Yeah. Let's go to another store shall we? I want a coat like yours."

With that, I left Tommy Hilfiger, and my past life behind me in a silence that I almost couldn't bear, with lyrics in my head. _But I told her I'm sorry. I never wanted it this way. Yeah, I still need her, but the mess won't go away._

A few minutes later I heard Jessica and Rebecca's voices. They were apparently discussing something in a store called "La Vie En Rose". _La Vie En Rose_, French for "The Life In Rose". Probably "The Rose in Life" would be a more accurate translation. I wonder what they'd be doing in this store. Hmm female clothes are everywhere. Weird. Wouldn't a store make more money selling to both sexes? "What do you mean you're having trouble?" I heard Rebecca say.

I crouched into Hunter stance, I heard trouble. There wasn't any cries of help or something, nor screams from zombies, what kind of trouble could they be talking about? "Well, I never really had to well... my claws are in the way... could you help?"

"Sure, what do you mean you never had to... wow, I wonder how they got this way."

What the hell were they talking about?!

"What do you mean?"

"Well look at mine," I heard a pause and shuffling coming from behind a curtain, "I have to wear one so they don't hit the floor if I get any older. Yours well... I guess that your unique cell structure keeps them in pretty much new and perfect condition with restructuring. You don't need one."

"Well, I wanted to impress Damien in some way you know?"

"Girl, the way that Hunter looks at you and acts around you... well you don't have to worry about it. Still fascinating though. May I?"

"Ohh... well... okay..." Jessica said with a low voice.

"Wow, definitely different than mine, see? Feel the difference. Man being infected really has its advantages."

What the hell were they talking about? Needing one? Not needing one? What was 'cell restructuring'? I'm going to ask. I opened up the curtain. "Girl what is cell res-"

I had to stop short. There were two topless girls, each with a hand on each other's chest. What the hell was going on here- "OUT!" Jessica yelled with a kick to my chest that sent my body flying across the store with a speed I didn't think possible. My legs hit the counter and sent me on an arc upwards. I sun in the air and hit the display window, shattering through the glass.

Fuck that hurt. I can barely move. I feel pain. Pain! Cuts sealing. Blood flow slowing. Screams and yells. Guns cocking. Crack sounds chest in pain. Cough, breathe. Wet on my face. Blood. I felt... I felt like I got hit by a truck. Someone wrapping their arms around me. I'm sitting? Alright, think. Note to self; don't go into anything that has Roses in its name. Jessica definitely needs to tone down her kicks.

I heard crying. The saddest, mournful sobbing I have only heard a few times before. The smell of citrus hit my nose. I opened my eyes. A pale face with beautiful white hair greeted my eyes. I moved my hand to her cheek. Her crying stopped as I smiled "I am never playing soccer with you. Ever."

She smiled back at me, she was fully dressed again as she held me to her body, cradled in her arms. I was embarrassed. With a groan I rolled to my stomach and pushed myself up. Alex and apparently Georg tried picking me up. I pushed them away and got up myself. Creaking came from my bones and I pushed on my chest. All fixed.

"Alright, now I am going into that store there." I said, pointing at a store outlined in black but had some lights and lamps flashing in the front and back.

I stumbled a bit but eventually got to walking right again. I turned around, everyone was staring at me. "I'm fine! Jessica, it is fine! C'mon, this store looks cool."

Jessica, Alex and I walked into the new weird store that read 'Spencer's Novelties'. Novels? Books? There didn't seem to be any books here. Hey that lamp is cool! It had a ball of liquid suspended in some other kind of liquid. There were a few of them. The blob on the bottom would raise up and break off into two, the higher one raising to the top as a ball fell to the bottom. Then after a few minutes, another ball raised as the old one fell to join the bottom blob again.

"You totally shoulda' been in tha seventies Damien" Alex said, "That be a Lava Lamp. You should see when I am high. Fun as hell. Starin' at that fo' a long time."

I grabbed a bag and placed a container that had 'Lava Lamp' written on it. I wanted one, so I got one. I looked over to what Jessica was looking at. It was a ball that had a ball in the center, but there was what seemed to be dozens of bolts of lightning coming from it. She gently placed a hand on the glass, the multiple bolts concentrated to one and danced along her palm. I don't know what's coming over me. I really wanted to kiss her right now. So I did. I grabbed her shoulders and pressed my lips against hers.

I have no idea why this action creates this electrifying response with me. I love it. I feel like all the bolts coming from that ball were coursing through my body. I felt like I jumped off a building into nothingness. I broke the kiss. "Jessica, are you mad at me for earlier?"

She looked slightly stunned, "You are apologizing? I kicked you through glass and broke your ribs."

A part of me thought of what to say to that. My hunter part wanted none of this, however, my human part. The one that knew her from long ago felt like saying something. "My ribs can be easily fixed, your happiness with me cannot be so easily mended."

Holy fuck I am smooth. I held the beautiful witch in my arms and closed my eyes, breathing in her scent. I looked around the shop as we embraced. There were a group of fountains still operating. One was what I read to be a vampire, holding two skulls, one in each hand. They poured a red liquid down his hands and robes as a cauldron poured the rest of the liquid over its sides. I wanted it. I gently broke from our embrace and smiled. Then I picked it up. "Let's continue shopping. We only have ten hours before the sun breaks."

"Sure. See you later." She said as she started walking out the door.

"No problem, I love you."

She paused a second and turned her head. She smiled and simply replied "And so do I."

Hours passed as Alex, George and I moved canned food into the back of a military transport that was in the lower parking levels. It took a while but eventually we got all the necessities inside. Then we started packing the extras.

"Why are you picking up a big screen HDTV?" George asked Alex.

"'Cause I wanta watch my HD porn and play my HD games in a HDTV."

"Oh... I'm getting one too then." I said.

So in the end we had the transport packed and tied down. We placed ammo and weapons in a solid position on the truck. We pretty much kept a square Donut shape, with ammo in the middle and for us to take cover in the boxes themselves.

George took me aside. "Damien I got something to show you."

I followed him to the back of the truck, we climbed up and he handed me a tube with some kind of lump at the end. "Alright. Now this is a Rocket Propelled Grenade, commonly known as an RPG. Now what you do it aim, pull the trigger and whatever you hit explodes in bits of meat."

"Only one thing I plan on using that on."

"Exactly. We are going to make a shitload of noise, this is in case a Tank makes it's own appearance"

"Got it"

"Alright, time to get some sleep." He said as he went back to quadruple-checking the equipment, he paused. "She's in the Zeller's by the way."

I smiled. "Thanks"

Tomorrow was going to be one hell of a day.

---------

People wondered why Damien's perspective changes within the first person. It is because the more injured, confused or stressed he is, it lowers his ability to think and comprehend. It goes from thoughts of the future and past to the present, and his feelings and thoughts then. Kind of like if you are sick the only thing you think of is how sick you are and your feelings attached to the present. Instead of thinking "I just did this" or "I'm going to do that" you think "I'm throwing up. Fucking headache." and "Puke". He is part Hunter, so it goes a bit more and is instinctual and primal in thought. Therefore, lower thought process during weak times.

See you in Chapter 9!


	9. Despair

Holy-fucking-penguin-on-a-screwdriver-eating-a-pickle-singing-the-Canadian-National-Anthem, how many Nick/Ellis can you fan-girls take? They aren't that hot, or attractive. "Oh one of them is slick and cool while the other one is innocent." Man, you'd think that being gay was better than being straight. I'm not homophobic, but come on. Then again, hot Hunter/Witch sex (in which there is none in this chapter unfortunately) might not be their cup of tea. Man, we need some more Hunter/Witch here. I challenge you all to make some more Hunter/Witch. Even Human/Hunter or some Witch/Human can be fine. In fact, check out IcyEmo15's "Innocent" for some good female Hunter action in which I (if you are reading this late) beta for (shameless self-advertising).

In other news, I think all the Jessica fans will love this chapter. Also, I did considerable research on the guns used in the Canadian Military. So now you can Wiki/Google these things to know what the group is using. I love my country.

..:: Evolution Chapter 9 – Despair ::..

"I like living. I have sometimes been wildly, despairingly, acutely miserable, racked with sorrow; but through it all I still know quite certainly that just to be alive is a grand thing."

— Agatha Christie

I used to be pretty. I used to be somebody. I used to be popular and cool and had all the things that I wanted. Everyone loved me and I had many to love. I was going to be famous. I was smart and full of promise. People would look at me and say "See that? Now that is a prime example of someone who is going to get somewhere high in life."

At least I think I did.

At least I think I was.

At least I like to think so.

Then I became bitter, loathing in my own self-depression that never seemed to end. I was locked in a silence that was filled with the sound of pain and suffering. I cried hours upon hours, mourning at a sense of loss that I couldn't comprehend. I cried so much I wondered where all my tears were coming from. I felt like I cried everything that was me out of my body. I cried out my soul, my life, my blood, my innocence and purity.

At least I like to think so.

Then it would be a lot more poetic, me crying for a reason. I didn't want to think of my second life as a set of programmed responses to my infected self. I didn't want to think of myself as the depressed crying little monster that I was. I even almost committed suicide in front of the only man that I remember even caring for me.

Sometimes I do cry silently so that nobody can hear. Sometimes it helps. However I cry for a different reason.

Right now I am lying down on a display bed in a world gone mad in a changed body that nobody would recognize. However, in that essence I can start anew. I can start a new life with new friends and people and nobody could stop me but the infected and my own will.

Instead of crying for the past and all that I have lost, I cry for the future and all that in which I can gain.

Which. Witch.

That is what I am, a Witch. I don't mind being a Witch. I get long claws that I don't have to paint. I get strength that amazes me every single day and I have a sense of independence that a part of me tells me that I never had.

In which of course only reminds me of what little I remember to be. I remember smiles, faces, people's blurry outlines, faint memories of places I have been before and emotions that are linked to events that hold no meaning to me anymore.

That was all lost in my second life.

I feel movement on the bed. It was controlled and caring; as if the person thought I was asleep and didn't want to wake me up. I barely felt him. Being the Hunter he was I could barely tell he was there. I felt a set of claws upon my face, a light brushing of my hair out of my eyes and behind my ears. The lightest touch of lips upon my cheek and he was away from me. Was he leaving again for something? I wanted him here. I twist around and grab his arm and simply said what I wanted, "Stay".

He just turned and smiled. "Anything for you Jessica."

He crawled under the covers and I pressed my back against his chest. Funny how he's from the same kind of monster that tries to kill us yet I feel the safest with him. I don't know why I fell for him so fast. I feel like I've known him for a long time. I try not to think about it much, he's one of the few things I have. He's one of the few things I want.

I also have friends, I get along really well with Rebecca, probably because she's the only girl here apart from me and she helps me with making sure that the apartments don't fall into ruin. George keeps to himself mostly if he isn't with Alex. Speaking of which, Alex is probably the one guy here I like almost as much as Damien, funny as hell and cute with that accent.

With an arm around my waist, I gently fall asleep. I am somewhat scared of what tomorrow might bring, yet comforted by the fact that I am still alive and with friends.

At least I like to think of that. I love it.

---------

"Alright guys, this is it. We have to make it to the apartments and into the elevator shaft before we get eaten or killed. From there we wait until things die down, and then we bring all the supplies up." George said, loading an assault rifle.

"Alrighty, now you guys get to have the best that the Canadian Military has to offer at this time. Despite all jokes in the past, if anybody wanted to attack Canada, they'd be properly fucked if they thought us a minor threat. Alex, what do you want?"

"Totally shotty mon" Alex said, loading a few handguns in his leather coat.

"Good choice, the Remington 870! Pump action and with an eight shell feed. Fucking reload okay? I'll take the C7 Rifle same with Jessica, funny how people mistake this for the M16A2. Anyways, Damien, what would you like?"

Funny how he just assumed I'll take that rifle. I was half-decent with everything. I guess more bullets equal more kills, rather than him hating on me for being a Witch.

Damien looked at the pile of weapons and picked up a long rifle. George patted his shoulder "Good for you to take that. That there is the McMillan Tac-50 Long Range Sniper Rifle. About twenty-six pounds and over a meter long," George took a breath as Damien easily picked it up with a single hand "it is a beauty of a killer. We got plenty of bullets for that since we never really used it on a horde, but I guess it will be great to take out the unique infected."

"How about we call them special? It just rolls better." Damien interrupted.

"Alright then, special infected. Anyways, there is a lot of proud Canadian history here in this rifle. We have the two longest kills in history, Two Canadian snipers made shots in Afghanistan during Operation Anaconda, in the Shah-i-Kot Valley. 2,310 and 2,430 meter kills. I wish I could have seen them make the shots."

"You know, for a guy who's been dodging the military's dead corpses last night, you seem really passionate about the army." Rebecca noted.

"That is because those particular guys were dicks and I was recently mixed in with them over this whole infection thing. I love the military, just not the people who turn it into something dishonourable, like said dead people. You are driving Becks, so you get a Browning HP. Lots of history everywhere with that one, even Saddam Hussein had one."

"Weee, fun."

"Alright, let's get this show going. Oh and Damien, you are also in charge of the LAW. Remember, single fire. Let's hope we only get into one Tank."

"Wow and anti-Tank weapon that was never meant to be used on this type of Tank. Who would have thunk it?"

We climbed up on top of the supplies that we were taking, secured under tarp and loads of ropes, harnesses and belts. We didn't want to come back to this mall. As I was about to reach the top, Damien reached out and took my hand. "C'mon, up you go."

Part of me wanted to tell him thanks; the other wanted to tell him that I could take care of myself easily. "How about we see what the army listens to." I heard Rebecca say from the front seat as we started our way out of the parking lot.

What I heard from the speakers was probably the most beautiful sounds I have ever heard. Sounded like two people just singing the word 'Who'. It made me think. I am Jessica of course, and I'm not going to die.

_Ain't found a way to kill me yet_

_Eyes burn with stinging sweat_

_Seems every path leads me to nowhere_

Isn't that the truth? There were a few common infected that Rebecca ran over or drove past as we moved our way onto the main road. All was pretty fine so far, just some infected that thought they could hitch a ride.

_Wife and kids household pet_

_Army green was no safe bet_

_The bullets scream to me from somewhere_

A crack was heard from beside me. A body fell from a building in front of us in a puff of smoke that dissipated quickly in the wind. "Smoker" was all that Damien said; he was starting to hunt another way.

Unfortunately, the infected now noticed our moving vehicle and more of a horde was coming after us.

_Here they come to snuff the rooster, aww yeah, hey yeah_

_Yeah here come the rooster, yeah_

_You know he ain't gonna die_

_No, no, no, ya know he ain't gonna die_

No I'm not, even if the song yelled out 'he'. Rebecca cranked the music and stepped on the gas, causing us to slide a bit on the tarp. I slid a few claws into a steel box for a grip and started firing rounds free-handed. My shots were going all over the place. "Jessica!" Alex yelled as he fired into a group of what seemed to be Japanese tourists, "On ya knees Witchy! Use both hands too!"

_Walkin' tall machine gun man_

_They spit on me in my home land_

_Gloria sent me pictures of my boy_

_Got my pills 'gainst mosquito death_

_My Buddy's breathin' his dyin' breath_

_Oh god please won't you help me make it through_

God isn't here, but my gun is. Why am I thinking in the context of these lyrics? I've got more important things to do. I went on a knee and leaned on what I remembered to be a box of canned fruit. I was able to pick off a Boomer before Damien saw him.

Guitar ran through my ears as I fired upon a group of infected heading from in front. I killed most of them before Rebecca hit them with the front-end of the truck. "Guys! Problem ahead!"

There was a problem, our route had a bunch of cars blocking the way in a pile-up. "Damien! Shoot the tanks! Blow a hole! Rebecca! Slow the fuck down!" George yelled.

Damien dropped to a knee and started firing. He wasn't making anything explode. "Dammit! New mag!"

George threw him another magazine and Damien resumed firing. We were getting close. Was it too close? What if we-

My thoughts were cut off by a gigantic explosion. Apparently, a car below a second car exploded, making the other one ignite as well. The resulting hole was almost big enough for us to get through, but had fire everywhere.

_Here they come to snuff the rooster, aww yeah _

_Yeah here come the rooster, yeah _

_You know he ain't gonna die _

_No, no, no ya know he ain't gonna die_

"Brace yourselves!" Rebecca yelled before she stepped on the gas.

We all grabbed the bars along what used to be the roof of the vehicle as Rebecca smashed the corner of the truck off of the side of a car as we broke through the pile-up. However we slowed enough for the infected to catch up with us. They started climbing up the sides of the car, some were partially on fire. George and I kept on firing upon the growing group of infected as Rebecca navigated through abandoned cars and other vehicles.

The shrieks of Hunters were heard as a few jumped at us. Damien was able to snipe a few before Alex finished off the ones that managed to jump into the air with a few blasts of his shotgun. Soon enough we were driving down the highway with infected chasing us from behind us.

I felt a tongue wrap around me and I screamed as it started to drag me off the truck, dropping my rifle. Damien clawed through it as I fell off, desperately trying to stay on. I was able to grab the side of the truck. I stabbed my left set of claws into the side as I tried to stay on.

Then I heard the mini-explosions. Seems that Alex or George thought it was a good time to break out the grenades. I looked back, trying not to let my feet drag along the floor as infected fell to the shrapnel. I felt the truck turn as we exited the freeway and I used the momentum to swing myself higher on the truck. Soon enough I was back on top and I retrieved my weapon.

The infected were starting to fall behind.

Our luck couldn't hold out for long as two tanks burst out from the woods beside us and started to chase after us, smashing cars at us along the way. That made Rebecca slow as she swerved to avoid the incoming hunks of metal. "Damien! Use the LAW!" George yelled.

"Two tanks with one rocket? I highly doubt it man!" Damien yelled back.

We needed a bigger explosion; I looked ahead of us for anything. There was a gas station with a tanker inside as well. "Guys! Pick up some grenades!" I moved to the door of the truck "Rebecca! Drive through the gas station!"

"Gas station? Are you fucking nuts?"

"Do it or we are going to be Tank meat!"

The rest caught on as Damien lifted the single-fire rocket-launcher to his shoulder. We all ducked as the roof of the station passed over our heads. The Tanks were following us easy enough but stopped in the station as they both picked up hunks of concrete. From what Damien has told us, they are really accurate with those things. They almost crushed him a few times when he was running for materials.

"Fucking fire everything!" Damien yelled.

A rocket and a bunch of grenades flew towards the two heaping masses of muscle in what felt to be slow motion. Balls of fire consumed the station and the Tanks disappeared in flames as the explosives hit them. Now we had a bigger problem than tanks throwing rocks at us. Concrete, a few cars and the roof of the station were flying through the air. Damien reacted with amazing speed as a sheet of metal flew by his face.

If anything, Rebecca's driving grew even more erratic as we swerved to avoid the metal and concrete. The music wasn't helping our hearts either, guitar and drums sounded through the chaos like a demon out of control.

_C'mon crush me like a flower rusted from the rain._

What is with rock and being both appropriate and inappropriate at the same time? Concentrate Jessica, concentrate. Fire on the crowd, keep calm! Feel the flow of emotion; don't let any take you over. Keep your heart beating normally, don't give into adrenaline.

Soon enough we saw our lovely apartment building in the distance. Just a bit further, only down the street! Then again, another yell of rage from another Tank broke any sense of this ordeal being over. It was a bit behind our building, and for some reason, Rebecca stepped on the gas. "What the hell Rebecca? Everyone! Concentrated fire!" George yelled.

We all fired upon the Tank. Bullets ripped through its body, but it barely even reacted to them. We were approaching too fast! What was Rebecca thinking? It was still coming at us fast! Soon it stopped yelling and was coming to a stop, but an explosion from a nearby car propelled its body right into the path of the truck as Rebecca swerved to the garage entrance.

An impact was all I heard before I was launched out of the truck, and the shattering of glass sounded through my ears as my vision faded to nothingness.

_The lunatic is on the grass, the lunatic is on the grass_

_Remembering games and daisy chains and laughs, got to keep the loonies on the path_

_The lunatic is in the hall. The lunatics are in my hall._

_The paper holds their folded faces to the floor, and every day the paper boy brings more._

What happened? The pain in my body hurts too much to think.

_And if the dam breaks open many years too soon, and if there is no room upon the hill._

_And if your head explodes with dark forebodings too, I'll see you on the dark side of the moon._

Dark side. The Dark side of the force. The dark side of the moon. The dark side of my mind. Pink Floyd. Floydie Floydfloydfloyd. I am your father. Disco Disco. Am I insane? Am I a monster? Ahhh! My head.

_The lunatic is in my head!_

_Hehehehe... hoohoohoohoohoo!_

_The lunatic is in my head!_

Who? Who is in my head? What is going on, where is this voice coming from? He hee heeeeeeee...

_You raise the blade, you make the change, you re-arrange me 'till I'm sane._

_You lock the door and throw away the key._

_There's someone in my head but it's not me._

I'll raise my claws, they are like knives. Pokey poke-poke-pokepokepoke! Teee heeeee.....

_And if the cloud bursts, thunder in your ear._

_You shout and no one seems to hear._

_And if the band you're in starts playing different tunes, I'll see you on the dark side of the moon._

Open my eyes, I can barely see. There isn't somebody in my head, it's only me. There is music. Music is coming from somewhere. Last time I heard it, it was on the radio. The radio. It was in the truck. The truck. Was on the road. We were on the road. Were we hit? We were! Where am I? Pavement, flat and cold. Alright, blink. Light was faint, some buzzing.

_"I can't think of anything to say except..._

_I think it's marvellous! Ha Ha Ha!" _

I looked to my hand, my clawed cruel hand. I moved my fingers. Good, those still work. Now my arms, then my leg, move my booted foot. Not much blood on my body, but then again it never stays on my body for some reason. Alright, time to get up sleepyhead.

I slowly stood up and moved over to a lump on the floor and rolled it over, it was George. I put my wrist up to his neck, he was still alive. He had a few cuts here and there, but was still fine. I moved over to a car that had its window smashed in by something. Oh God! Damien!

I pulled him free from the windshield and more glass spilled into the front seat. I laid him on the ground and also checked for a pulse, and then I realized he was still breathing. His body must still be healing. There was a horrible smell coming from the other side of the garage. I picked up a flashlight from George's belt. Wait, why am I using a flashlight? I can see clearly, albeit in an orange glow. I moved over to the corner I thought it was coming from. Quite a few bodies were placed there to rot, and there was one with a leather coat. I moved closer to it and heard a noise.

It was snoring. I moved to the lump and kicked it. "Huh, wazzat?" was the response.

"Alex, get the fuck up."

He groaned and got up. "Mon, it feels lika I've been punched by a Tank. How are the others?"

"All alive, haven't seen Rebecca though." I said as I tossed him the flashlight.

We moved slowly to the only other place that we haven't checked; the truck. "OH mon, that Tank betta not have broken my TV."

"I'm sure there are others in the other Apartments, I'll send Damien to get one."

Coughing and broken glass tinkling against something was heard behind me. Turning around I saw Damien lifting himself from the car. He fell to the floor as he tried to stand up. I ran to him and helped him up. "You okay?" he hoarsely asked.

"Yeah, what about you?"

"I'll live. Dead. Well, living dead. What am I exactly?" he asked.

His powers of concentrating were amazing. We moved to the truck to see what was broken. Everything was still well-strapped in. Some things inside were probably broken but it wasn't like this side of the truck was hit by the tank It was only the front. It was amazing, the truck seemingly blocked most of the garage off, and nothing could get in until we unloaded it. The front was outside of the apartment.

It was the front that was hit! Rebecca was in the front! I rushed to the front of the truck by jumping through a gap in the side where the rear of the truck's back bumper was a foot away from the back of the garage. Damien and Alex followed behind.

What I saw brought me to my knees and made me cry in despair. Rebecca's face was cut all over and covered in rivulets of blood. Her eyes were staring ahead and her face seemed full of pain. On hand was limp and supported by a piece of metal that was lodged in her chest. She was still alive for a bit before she succumbed to the blood loss. Her bronze skin was covered in crimson and I doubted the bottom half of her body looked any better because the front of the truck was smashed to hell. Then I noticed the bullet wound in the side of her skull. She took her own life to end the pain.

My eyes swelled with tears. Sadness tore through my heart and soul. A blanket of despair overwhelmed me. I gave in. I cried. It was almost too much to bear, and I could barely see Alex take a second tarp out to cover her body. Part of me told me that she was in a better place. Maybe it was Damien who told me that as I felt him wrap his arms around me.

At least, that is what I like to hope for.

---------

So! Now for TEH CONTESD of a lieftiem. Submit a PM or E-mail (on my profile) with the following:

1) A story, rescue-mission, raid or idea that I can turn into a chapter. Has to be decent and doesn't involve my characters getting killed or manipulated (For example: ZOMG Jessica is pregnant!)

2) A description of you or your character, with description and personality traits. For the love of God and all that is unholy, please don't give me a Japanese/Chinese/Korean/Asian name unless you are actually Asian. I love anime, but this is Left 4 Dead and not a CLAMP story. Also, you cannot be a special infected since Damien and Jessica are the only ones with the pure Evolved Virus.

The lucky person/people that give me a good idea (I'm not running out, I'm lazy) will have their own chapter in my story or something.


	10. Deliverance

HOLY FUCKING SHIT! TENTH FUCKING CHAPTER! Never would I think that I'd write _ten fucking chapters _for a story! I can barely get over it. My hands are shaking. Oh wait, that's the lack of sleep! If you came up to me and said I'd write over ten chapters of a Left 4 Dead story, I'd say that you were crazier than a Jockey. Say that it would get over 3500 hits? I'd say... well pretty much the same thing. I'm not saying it's over; I still have some epic ideas in my head. I'm just saying that 10 is a milestone I thought I'd never achieve. People get crazy over word count, hits and review counts. I am happy I wrote this much and still be into it!

Remember! E-mail or PM me with an idea and your character and you, yes _you_ could possibly be in a chapter of Evolution! My profile has PM access and E-mail.

..:: Evolution Chapter 10 – Deliverance ::..

"In that book which is my memory,

On the first page of the chapter that is the day when I first met you,

Appear the words, 'Here begins a new life'."

— Dante Alighieri (Vita Nuova)

Jessica cried for almost a whole day after Rebecca's death. I was beside her the whole time. Alex and George unloaded the truck over the next few days. George didn't say anything about it and Alex understood what Jessica was going through. It wasn't her fault; she was just more susceptible to grief. An emotion I also unwillingly relearned that week.

We wrapped Rebecca's body in layers of blankets and cloth. We buried her on Sunday November 1st, approximately four weeks after first infection in the States, according to Alex. We made a large stack of wood in the park. It was a crisp and slightly cold day even though the sun was out. Winter was coming and you could feel it.

All of us held a candle as we gathered around her body that was placed on the wood. It was strange, for some reason the infected didn't attack us while we were in the park. Usually if we were in the open this long at least a Smoker would have tried to tongue us. It was as if some unknown force was keeping the infected back. Maybe it was this 'God' I've read about.

Alex tossed his candle on the cloth. It seemed that he must have poured something on the body, since the flames caught way too fast. We all joined him and watched our friend's body burn. Alex stood forward and coughed. "As you war once was, we are now. Wat'chu are now, we will soon be. Rest in peace 'Becca." Then he stated walking away.

Jessica barely let out a "I'll miss you" before joining Alex.

"God... God will take care of you more than we could now. Bye." George spoke before turning to me, "You coming Damien?"

"I'll catch up. I have some things to run to." I lied.

"Alright... just don't keep Jessica waiting."

I stood there in the cold breeze as everyone left. This was my first real death. My friend really was gone wasn't she? I've really only known her for a week and then poof, she was gone. It seemed like there was just something missing in the apartment. I first thought it was Jessica's sadness that brought me down, but the weight on me was my own grief. I prayed to whomever or whatever that Jessica wouldn't be taken from me, even the thought made a lump in my throat.

Maybe this is what made me partially human.

"I wish I knew you before the infection Rebecca. It seemed we could have been friends. I'd even hire you at my store, who knows maybe you did apply. Either way, I wish and hope that you are happy wherever you are. At least you got the Dead-dead, I'm the living-dead you lucky girl." I chuckled to myself, "We'll take that formula you made for the explosives and make your contribution known to the world. If anybody could make sense of your scribbling, it would be Alex. Look at me rambling! Well, rest in peace Rebecca. I'll miss you."

Then I ran. I ran away from my guilt, my grief and my sorrow. I ran from my friend's burning body. I ran from the ashes. I ran from the death. I just let myself get taken over partially by the Hunter in me. Speed became my friend, and the hunt became my passion. What was I hunting for? My human part didn't know. Maybe my hunter-self did.

Soon enough I was on top of a skyscraper looking over Mississauga and I didn't even know how I got there. I looked around the city. Tiny infected were running around in hordes, searching for prey they might never find. What were they seeking? I doubted that they even needed to feed. I wanted to be as far away from them as I could, it would certainly increase my chances of survival. Maybe that is what my hunter-self instinctively wanted to show me.

I need to get out of the Greater Toronto Area, or I will die here.

---------

Two weeks went by and we coasted in our little apartment. Jessica seemed more like herself; we even made love a few more times when Alex and George were working. Speaking of Alex, he said he was working on multiple projects at once. One of the projects was the explosives that would help deal with the infected.

One night, after a particularly good round or three of having fun with Jessica, I asked her the question burning in my mind over the past while. "Jessica?"

Her body was spooned with mine an she cuddled more into me. "Yes love?"

"What would you say if I wanted to get out of Mississauga?"

She paused, "I'd say 'Where would you go Hunter?"

"That's the thing, I don't know. I just have this feeling that we should get out of here. Toronto, Brampton, even Oakville, Burlington and Hamilton are way too close and their populations are high."

"Which means tons of infected just running around." She realized.

"Exactly, now whenever we are in a place for too long, infected show up. They keep showing up. Even after we kill every infected in the immediate area we are still later attacked by more. What if we get hit by a swarm of infected here? They find a way in and attack. Who knows how many infected could attack then. Hundreds? Thousands? Millions? Toronto has like what, two r three million people in it? We are right beside that. The GTA has five or six."

"Bring it up tomorrow."

There was a knocking at the door. "Damien I need you for a minute." It was George.

"Wait until tomorrow?"

"This is pretty fucking important."

"Coming, gimme a minute."

"Alright, meet on the roof. Jessica, you can come if you want."

Soon enough I was in my favourite lounging-at-home sweater, the one I found with the furry lining at the job I worked at before I evolved. Not like it mattered, I probably paid or sent for the stuff anyways and since I was still technically on the payroll I probably deserved a free sweater. Who's going to fire me? Me? I chuckled to myself and headed onto the roof. There was a table with about twenty plastic pipe pieces on it. "Ah! Damien! Welcome mon to my fabulous rooftop!" Alex greeted him.

He went back to his seat and was fiddling with a box making a fuzzy noise. "Dis is what I called you for mon. I be not interruptin' would I?"

"Nah you're good, what is it?"

"Listen."

I stared at the box as he fiddled with a knob, static came from it, like always. However, a voice started coming through the speaker, scratchy but it was there. "It's a repeating message, it's about to start again."

"Thanks George, I didn't know what repeating was."

"Sure we didn't interrupt anything?"

"Atte... all surviv... there is a place.... can go... London Onta... White Oaks Mall... Wellington Ro..." Alex was able to just clear it up enough for the next bit. "We have people here. We are in a safe location and it is heavily fortified from the infected. All are welcome, and I repeat. All are welcome. Captain Jonathan Cliff is in charge and we will accept anyone, no matter what their past is. As long as they are willing to help their fellow man! We are the London Knights and we are offering the chance to be more. Do not approach the mall during night without making your presence known; we will shoot on sight unless you do. Take care in doing so, especially when infected are present. This is Lieutenant Terra Balagno recording. Attention all survivors, there is a place you can go..."

"Den it repeats" Alex said as he turned down the volume.

"Well, what do you think? Do you think we should go for it Damien?" George asked.

Wait why is he asking me? They are both looking at me as if I should make all the decisions. I told them pretty much what I told Jessica. Alex turned to George "Now see dat? I dinna tink of that! Alright! So when are we goin'?"

"First things first: what the hell are these?" I asked

I picked up a tube. The ends were both sealed with a string hanging from the top. Along the side there was a battery and a light switch were taped against the tube, along with a tiny box. Looking at others I saw bells on them instead of the box, which I hypothesized to be a buzzer. Hypothesized, wow, that's a fucking big word there.

"Alright, cha'll wondering how we distract tha infected or take dem out with one fell blow. Now I, wit tha help of all of you, have made da best IED ever." Alex said holding one of the tubes.

"IED?" Jessica asked.

"Improvised Explosive Device." George explained.

Alex picked one up and lit the end of one with a long fuse. Then he flicked the switch and a loud annoying beeping sounded. A few cries of the infected were heard from below. He tossed it straight down the side of the building and infected swarmed around it. After about ten seconds it exploded, annihilating the centre ones and tossing the others.

"Well?"

"Rebecca would be proud. Now let's make some plans! Can we contact Terra or Jonathan?"

"Nah we can't mon." Alex replied.

"Anyone know where this 'White Oaks Mall' is?" Jessica asked.

"I do, I was stationed in London for a few months before I was sent here." George spoke up.

"Alright, let's get out of this apartment. It's starting to smell."

---------

We worked hard over the next few days, most likely because we now had a mission, a purpose. Maybe we wanted to leave our old lives behind. All three of my friends saw the world fall apart here. Their families and friends line the streets of a city they used to know to be full of life.

When I wasn't working I read over the journal I found on the dead man's body. I skipped over the first few entries; they were mostly going on about how the infection took everyone over.

_Oct 10, 2009_

_I found a rifle today, just like the rifle on Grandpa Joe's farm. Funny how a man goes from being a doctor to a zombie killer in almost two weeks. It's a bolt-action, the type G-pa used to carry around, and seems to use the same ammunition. I need to find someplace to hole up, I hear a Hunter around._

_Oct 11, 2009_

_I found a bunch of survivors at a church today. We spent the day further fortifying the windows and I found a good vantage point from the clock tower. I decided to test a theory out and I shot an infected in both legs, crippling him to the ground. He's still crawling around out there. I wonder if that Hunter I shot yesterday while scav'ing would do what my theory dictates. Then we might have a better way of dealing with the infected if we knew what they were fully capable of._

_Oct 12, 2009_

_He's still moving around, just aimlessly moving around the cemetery out back. He doesn't seem to be bleeding out. Strange, moving like that would prevent the bullet wounds from sealing. I met a man today, said he was travelling making a book. Why would he make a book in the apocalypse? Not like anybody is going to read it._

_Oct 14, 2009_

_An explosion was seen far into the distance today. It was way too large to be a gas station. I think one of the apartments was blown up. I don't know if this was a gas line failure or done on purpose. I shudder to think of the latter. If somebody was blowing up buildings, would they be ballsy enough to blow up a Church?_

_Oct 16, 2009_

_I went out of the Church to check on the man's body. Almost a big mistake, he only was able to claw at me and only drew a tiny bit of blood. Amazing how the infection affects the body. It seems like it is trying to evolve into an invincible force. After I shot the man in the head (I had to clean his blood off, it was too close a shot to remain clean.) I examined the corpse. The bullet wounds were completely sealed! Seems like these zombies are almost like the ones in fiction, a headshot is the most guaranteed way of killing them. Then again, they wouldn't heal from enough wounds or a shotgun blast. Maybe a shot through the heart would kill them too since the blood carries the virus. The ones that cry (I'm calling them weepers, some call them a "witch") heal at an extremely fast rate, but only if there is blood on them. This may be the reason why the infected fight with their slightly elongated claws instead of biting. They only stop to feed when they need to heal. If the virus keeps their dead bodies going, then winter may not be our salvation. Wonder if that Hunter has the minor abilities?_

_oct 17 9_

_sems like i got blood in the wund that the infekitd gave me can barely think, fever. I am still on the roff tho only for seeing and not shoting. I felt wek befor earlir toda but nododi notisd. My hed hurts and cannut think. This bel iz shinee wondr what happens when i pul the rop. Might eat dinner aftr bell. Itchy tasty_

_DOCTOR YOU KILLED US ALL THE DOCTOR DID THIS HE RANG THE BELL THEY ARE COMING THEY ARE COMING THEY ARE COMING THEY ARE COMING GOD SAVE US_

_**The end is really fucking nigh.**_

---------

I didn't know what a Hummer was until now. Alex and George were the ones loading the vehicle that we were using and Alex wanted another day to show us his "surprise". Apparently it was a Hummer, with death attached to it.

I've seen stylish cars when travelling the city. I've even tossed a boomer onto a Porche. Strange how I didn't know the value of those cars, yet I cringed for some reason. Might have even been my car for all I know. All I know is that the red wasn't so red anymore.

This was different though. This behemoth of a van seemed to be able to do enough damage on its own. Now added to its large frame was a metal frame that ran along the sides of the Hummer and a reinforced front bumper. There were metal bars that covered the windows to prevent infected from breaking in and allowed pistols to fire from. It was spray-painted crimson along the Hummer's new frame-work. Apparently the roof was taken off too, allowing to any of us to add covering fire.

Alex tossed me the keys, "open it up mon."

On the inside all the seats were removed save for the four we would ride on. There was a barrel attached to the left side as well as some bars along the walls, some already had guns attached for easy-equip. There were also a good number of Alex's 'Pipe Bombs" and bottles of liquid strapped to the sides with Velcro and supported with what appeared to be movie theatre cup holders.

"Wow, how long have you been planning this?"

"Well mon, pretty much since we got here. Tha major body work wasn't done 'til this week. Since I was making too much noise, I 'ad to wait until something perfectly sealed the garage mon. The truck did tha job and only allowed one infected in at a time if a 'orde came, easy since all I had to use was this freakin' axe." He hefted a pretty solid axe that he must have got from Rona. "Save on ammo and the dead bodies make a decent barricade."

"What's the barrel for?"

"Ah that mon is what be keepin' this ting goin' for longa than what it is made fo'" Alex explained, "It's welded and perfectly sealed mon for extra gas space. We don' know where we be goin' half tha time and we best be prepared."

"Good, I don't want to shoot and blow myself up. What about those bottles?"

"Light the cloth end, throw and instant fire." George said.

"Molotov cocktail. Or a 'tolomov tailcock' as my friend in university used to say." Alex added.

"Ah! I like fire."

"Good, because we don't know what we can do until we hit London." George lit a cigarette, "We also don't know what will come after us."

---------

Alright. Everything is packed. Jessica is loading up a shotgun. How does she do that with her claws? Ah why am I so nervous. Probably because out last outing involved a girl getting impaled and shooting herself in the head.

Isn't the world just lovely?

Soon enough we were all in the Hummer and ready to go. Alex took a tube of paper and stuck it in his mouth. "Hey man, we're driving from crazy amounts of infected, you think this is the time for that?"

"Hey mon, it just be a cigarette!" Alex said with mock anger.

George paused. "Well fuck, give me one."

As soon as the engine roared to life and we pushed the truck out of the way and made one hell of a noise. Screams of infected sounded throughout the block as zombies ran out of buildings trying to catch the big badass vehicle. I pushed open the sunroof and started shooting that the special infected that could make our escape more dangerous. A Charger's head exploded as I put a .50 shell through his head.

"Damien, use somma da pipe bombs mon!" he said, flicking me his lighter.

Soon both a Molotov and a pipe bomb were passed up to me. "Which one?"

"I don't fucking care use one!" Jessica yelled over all the noise.

'Why not use both?' said a voice in my head. I think this was my main improvisation voice talking. Maybe it was me talking to me without me letting me know that it was me that was indeed talking to me in the first place. Damn, now isn't the time.

Carefully using my claws I took the extra tape that was on the bomb that kept the buzzer on the pipe. Then I wrapped the two bottle together, lit the ends and threw them into the crowd after hitting the switch.

The results were spectacular. Fist the Molotov exploded, making a big puddle of flame. Then the pipe bomb drew the infected in. After about three seconds it blew, sending a limb flying towards my head. With reflexes that always surprised me, I dodged it as it flew by the front of the car.

"Hey mon, it be looking like they be giving you a hand for that light show." Alex joked.

We navigated through cars, past the smoking pile of rubble that used to be the gas station and onto the highway. I went back into the Hummer since Alex gained speed and it probably wasn't the best to be out of a moving vehicle at over a hundred and thirty kilometres an hour. It was above the speed limit.

I settled back into the smoke-scented car and lay back against one of the remaining seats. Jessica's head rested on my shoulder and I cracked open a Mountain Dew.

What will the future hold? Who knows? I just hope it has more of what we left behind.

---------

Funny thing is that I'm the one that came up with "Tolomov Tailcock". My friends and I found that tolomov tailcock flowed easier than "Molotov Cocktail!" A friend in English said it's because all the stressed parts were balanced through the whole word. If you ever play with me you'll hear me say Tolomov.

Tolomov Tailcock. (Tall – oh – mahv, Tail – cock)

Start using that, I want it to catch on.


	11. Discovery

Hey everyone! Thanks for all the support and all that good stuff!

For those who live/lived in London, I'm modifying White Oaks Mall a tiny bit, like adding a multi-level underground parking lot. However this will be the only thing changed so you can enjoy zombies in the Forest City! Those who wish to plot out White Oaks Mall like in the story can find it at the site, which can be looked up on Google, accurate as of Feb 10 2010. For those who don't know where London Ontario is, it is about halfway between the border to the USA in Sarnia and Toronto. Pretty much the largest city in South-western Ontario and you most likely drive through it when heading to Toronto/GTA.

..:: Evolution Chapter 11 – Discovery ::..

"All I wanna do is'" George fired four shots from his pistol, "and a," he cocked the back then yelled "then take your money!"

"What the hell is in his Sunny D?" Jessica moaned.

"A good chunka Vodka is what he's got Witchy" Alex replied

"Some some some I some I murder. Some I some I let go. Some some some I some I murder. Some I some I let go." George continued his song that was blasting from the speakers.

"Thank God he isn't driving." I added.

"No seriously, I'm not that drunk. I'm just messing with you guys." George said quite plainly, "You think I'm going to make my first impression to a fellow soldier drunk? A captain? Fuck that, I do have some sense of pride."

We've been on the road for close to two hours. We had to keep dodging broken down cars every time we got close to a major city. George clicked it back to the radio which still repeated the broadcast. "By the way George, you never told us what rank you held."

"Oh," George paused, probably thought that nobody would care anymore, "I was a Corporal ranked soldier."

"So is he higher than you?"

"Several ranks, he's almost a senior officer."

"This is Lieutenant Ter---rrrr—rr" the radio cut out.

Needless to say, Jessica slightly panicked. "What the hell was that? Is something wrong with the radio? Did they get attacked? Can't we get there faster?"

"Calm down, they just might have gotten hit by a power outage or something."

"Th-th-" the radio was catching the signal again "This is Major Jonathan Cliff of the London Knights. We are currently stationed in London Ontario. We are taking in all survivors no matter your history or background. We just ask that you bring something that could help contribute to our struggle against the zombies. We are located at White Oaks Mall on Wellington Road coming off the Highway. This is a Recording. This is Major Jonathan Cliff."

"Well, make him a senior officer. They just took off the radio to renew the signal." George said.

"What does he mean by 'bring something to help contribute to our struggle against the infected'?" Jessica asked.

"Well, they are probably low on men, ammo and transportation. We have a Hunter that can scout, an engineer, a Witch that could cut this car in half and me, an actual trained soldier. I don't think we will have a problem." George answered her while taking another swig of his special Sunny D.

"We could also give him the Hummer. Plus we have design plans for an actual weapon that can be effectively used against the infected." I added.

"Hell we'll be fine Witchy. Doncha worry none woman." Alex reassured Jessica.

---------

We turned off the access ramp to Wellington road. The cars that usually were scattered were neatly placed in a row on each side of the road. Wandering infected and quite a dozens of dead bodies still littered the streets, but this was an actual sign of life.

My heart started racing. This was my first contact with civilization. What will they think of me? What will they think of Jessica? I won't let them hurt her! They better be fine with me or I'll kill them all! "Damien! Honey you are growling! Are you okay?" Jessica asked, hugging me.

She was right. I was growling. I stopped and hugged her, feeling better already. No matter what the outcome is, I'm staying alive.

We found White oaks Mall, mostly due to the lack of bodies around a large fence that surrounded the mall and the few sentry towers like the one on the mall in Mississauga. The fences had barbed wire along the top and there were small rows of barricades throughout the parking lot, save for a few spaces for vehicles to go through.

Men were in the towers and they apparently noticed us. A few soldiers ran to the centre building while others ran towards the main opening in the front of the street, which allowed us to turn into. We pulled up to the front of the large imposing gate. A soldier slowly came up to us with his gun drawn. A few blinks of light from the roof of the mall made me notice that they had snipers in position too. Two trucks with men on the top operating mounted machine guns were pointed at us.

"We ask that you calmly exit your vehicle and keep your hands up." A soldier said.

He was fairly young, his hair cut short and slightly gelled. He wore aviator sunglasses and wore a standard camouflage uniform that held his rank – to which I had no clue was – and an emblem of a knight stitched above his breast pocket. He looked to be around my age, around 20. He seemed confident; I wonder how long that will hold up against me.

"Do as they say, they are probably checking to see that we don't blow up the car or something." George said.

We all exited the car. Instantly everybody cocked their weapons when they saw me and Jessica. Apparently his confidence was weaker in the close presence of a Hunter and Witch. "Don't shoot! They are sane with human intelligence and will not attack you! I am Corporal George Lapin of the Canadian Armed Forces and I wish to speak with your commanding officer." George immediately spoke.

There was a noticeable pause from the soldier and he never took his rifle off of me. "Alright then." He said as he clicked his radio, "Major, we have a few survivors and a... situation that needs your attention."

"Can this wait, I am almost finished this song." A voice was heard, along with music interrupted by scratching.

The soldier sighed and rolled his eyes. "No sir, this is something you should be extremely interested in."

"Fine, I'm coming then Adam. Just remember that if I bitch about not beating your score, you better not say a fucking word."

A few minutes later a uniformed man opened the door and walked towards us. His eyes were also hidden by sunglasses but his pace increased when he noticed that there were guns pointed at us. "Why are we holding survivors up? Are they oh-" He stopped when he noticed us.

He took his glasses off. He was young, probably way too young to be a Major since George was around thirty and a corporal. He had blonde hair and green eyes and stood a little taller than me, and for some reason, wasn't actually disturbed in seeing us. "Well, Adam. Why are you pointing guns at them?"

"Umm, sir. They are infected." Adam responded.

"Has the Hunter pounced you?"

"No sir."

"Has the Witch ripped you limb from limb?"

"No sir but-" Adam started.

"Have they attacked you or the two people they are with?" the man said plainly.

"No sir."

"Good, now get those guns down." He said as he looked at us while everyone relaxed.

"Now I am sorry about all of this high-tense stuff. This mess has got us all high-strung after a while and you two are.... unique." He started, "My name is Jonathan Cliff and I am the Major of the London Knights, welcome to our little home."

"Sir!" George saluted, "I'm Corporal George Lapin and these are my friends, we came down from Mississauga"

"As you were soldier. We might still be the army but we are a tiny bit more relaxed. Now can I get you four to please follow me? We can have lunch and fill you in when we-"

"ZOMBIES! Coming down Wellington at Best Buy!" a voice yelled.

Shit, we just passed a Best Buy. I turned around and a shitload of infected came running at us. This was a huge horde, more than fifty bodies came running at us, might have even been a hundred. I didn't know what would happen if I moved, but I didn't care, I jumped into the car and grabbed a few pipe bombs as rifle fire started up. I lit them, flicked the switch and threw a few past the oncoming horde. "What the fuck?" is what I heard Adam say before the zombies ran in the opposite direction and towards the beeping pipe of death.

Those that weren't caught in the explosion were quickly dealt with by a few shots from the towers. Jonathan turned towards us. "Well, one of the questions was how you guys were going to contribute, but I think we just came to a decision. Those definitely save ammo; I don't want to use the Chains for anything but Tanks.

"Since you also didn't rip me open while we were all distracted, we can tell you have something special about you Hunter. You have a name?"

"Damien Aaron Parker sir." I said, doing a loose and fast salute.

"You sir?" Jonathan asked Alex.

"Alex Bastian Lawrence mon." Alex said, idly thumbing a few bullets into a clip.

"Holy shit a Jamaican. Fucking hell I've never met a Jamaican I never liked. Welcome! Your name might be?" he said with a seemingly smooth flow and held his hand out to Jessica.

She shook his hand nervously, obviously being careful not to slice his hand up. "I-I'm Jessica Miskovsky sir." She said softly.

Jonathan laughed, "Well aren't you a cute one! Well, welcome to London Ontario everyone! Now let's have lunch. Adam, close this gate and send second patrol to the towers, you are dining with us. Send someone to take this Hummer to the garage,"

We walked to the mall, careful to avoid the barbed wire mini-fences that had burn marks all over it. "We get hit heavy with infected every once in a while." He pointed to a large building that was at the corner of the intersection, "That building has a few soldiers on it that we keep in contact with; they have a good vantage point.

"From there we can set up defences for the incoming horde. If it is low, say a hundred or so, we keep the guys in the towers and fight them ground level since we can whittle down their numbers before they hit the fence, climb it and reach us. We have these fences of barbed wire hare as a barricade every two meters in a crossing alternate pattern to cause the zombies to turn and take longer to get to us. Sometimes they can run through a few before getting stuck. More than one had died trying to get loose. We remove all the bodies and burn them in a pool that is at the apartments to the northwest of the mall. It gets smelly when we do, so we only do it every few days or so. The rest we burn where we find them.

"The mall itself has only one main entrance that we keep open. The reason being that there were two banks along the side right when you enter that were open twenty four hours. There is a light gating that separated the main mall from them. That we use if there are way too many to fight off. That's the Wellington Road entrance. We kept the names of the entrances since a bunch of people were used to them."

Then we entered the Mall, and Jessica stayed glued to my side. It was way cleaner than what I thought it would be. It was free of debris and the floor had no blood on it. There was a bunch of smells through the air. Most of the stores were boarded up and had posters and artful graffiti spray painted over them. "We removed most of the items from all the stores and broke down that which was not needed. We have fifteen families here, twenty other survivors and thirty soldiers that are a part of the London Knights. We use the stores as residence and have the main parts boarded up for privacy, though it isn't soundproof."

There were a few people walking through the mall, all in decent clothing and armed. Unfortunately they were staring at us for way too long. I felt nervous. We walked past a place called 'Wal-Mart'. "We use this place as storage and where we got most of the beds, couches and other furniture. Nice and spacious, everything gets checked through Corporal Anderson there." Jonathan informed us as the Corporal saluted and waved to us, then stopped when he noticed I was a Hunter and my girlfriend had white hair and claws that could rip you in half like a hot knife through butter.

Jonathan sighed "All who are in the base please come to the food court to have a meeting." He said into his radio before turning to us, "I hoped we wouldn't have to, but since we have itchy trigger fingers in our squad, we have to do this. Follow me."

We didn't follow him far; soon all four of us were on a raised platform looking at pretty much everyone in the mall. "Everyone sit down and calm down, please listen." Jonathan said.

"Over the course of the infection we as a human race have been whittled down to a shadow of our former selves. Now we have learned that we must settle our differences and our hatred in order to survive with each other. We all know that there are criminals, mothers, fathers, bankers, gangsters and many different people in this crowd that is assembled here. I would know since I've processed every one of you. Now I ask that-"

"He's a fucking Hunter! What the hell is he doing here?" a man yelled from the audience, bringing them to chatter loudly again.

Fuck this; I'm as normal as the rest of them. I'm going to say something. I approached the stand and everyone dropped dead silent. "Everyone, my name is Damien Aaron Parker. He is right. I'm a Hunter, but I am also human as well. I haven't killed anybody and neither has Jessica, the Witch to my right."

Okay that was a lie, I've killed over a dozen people and I met Jessica covered in the blood of survivors. Details, details, details. "What are you contributing to the cause?" somebody yelled out.

"I contribute myself for one; I can run farther, faster and longer than anybody here, making me a great scout. I am also handy with a sniper rifle and other weaponry as well as hand-to-hand with my claws. Jessica can rip through a zombie as well as any sharpened blade could and can survive being punched by a tank. My friend Alex is an engineer and has invented a new weapon to battle the infected. George there is a soldier and is trained as well as anybody else in the Knights."

Jonathan took the stand, "If anybody can actually come up with a reason as to why these four can't stay then they are in. They have already convinced me that Damien and Jessica are as human as the rest of us, albeit the claws. Now if anybody has a problem with that, then you can leave. You know we aren't keeping you here and we aren't being paid to do so. The world is a pretty free place, so if you don't want to show some humanity, then how are you different from the monsters running outside?"

Some people grumbled while some looked as if they wanted to still shoot me, and the others went on their way to do whatever it was that they were doing before. "Now, if you will join me, it is one o'clock and that means that I am having lunch, you are joining me." Jonathan said matter-of-factly.

---------

"-so den Damien had a great idea and launched da rocket straight into da station mon! Blew both tanks straight to hell!" Alex said with his hands raised before going back to his soup, "second biggest explosion in my life!"

"What was the first?" a woman asked as she came into the cafeteria and addressed Jonathan, giving a slight salute.

"Ah! Lieutenant Terra Balagno, how was the scav'ing?" Jonathan said as he got up and shook her hand.

Lieutenant Terra Balagno stood almost six feet, with slightly wavy dark brown hair that fell to her shoulders. One thing I noticed was that everyone's hair was cut well; there must be a decent hair-dresser still here. She wasn't overly muscular either, in fact she looked a bit less thin than Jessica, and Jessie was almost a twig. One thing that made her more noticeable other than her slightly cute looks were her eyes; they started as a light grey-blue in the centre but darkened to an almost sapphire color on the outside. It wasn't overly amazing, just something that made you take notice.

"Fairly well sir, we got about ten more bags of rice and backpack full of noodles, baby shell." She said.

"Great! Are they-"

"Put away sir? Yes they are I saw it myself before I came to inform you of our arrival." Terra interrupted him.

"Oh, nice to see that somebody still sees things through to the end Terra, have a seat. Join us."

She sat down and looked around at our group before asking the same question everyone else was: "So how are you guys?" she said, her blue eyes twinkling with what I thought to be curiosity.

Wait. What?

"Oh... uh... I'm fine thanks. I'm Damien Aaron Parker." I said extending my clawed hand, slightly shocked at her lack of alarm.

"Nice to meet you," she replied politely, shaking my hand.

"These are my friends Alex Lawrence,"

"Hey Terra, nice to meet ya girl." Alex said, shaking her hand.

"George Lapin,"

"Ma'am." He said, probably just responding to her rank.

"Last but not least, my girlfriend Jessica Miskovsky."

"Hey" Jessica said, lightly shaking her hand.

"Charmed," Terra said smiling before turning to Alex, "now what was that about an explosion?"

"Oh well... you see I was bitten a few days before..." Alex said, starting the story on how I rescued him.

---------

"Well, this used to be owned by the Leblancs, but they left on a scouting mission by themselves and got ripped to shreds." Jonathan said as he opened up the doors to what was called 'Green Earth', "Having four people living here shouldn't be a problem right?"

It was spacious; all the displays have been taken out except for a few glass ones that the previous owners kept. They were filled with gothic fairies, dragons, vampires and other things that I had only read about. Other cases had decorative daggers and the walls had model swords and other medieval weaponry. There were a set of bunk beds in the corner along with a single bed beside it. Antique chests that probably held clothes were at the base of the bed, plus it had a storage room on the side, probably for the old merchandise.

"No, shouldn't be a problem. Guys, I'm hitting the sack." George said.

"Me too mon, today was fun but I need some sleep, lookin' at all dis give me a good ideas." Alex also spoke, quite cheerfully too.

"I'm going too, Damien you coming?" Jessica asked.

"No, sorry Jessie, I have some talking to do with the Major." I replied, noting the slight disappointment in her eyes.

"Alright then Damien, follow me." Jonathan said, beckoning me forward, "We'll chat on the roof."

So I did follow him, noting the slight glares coming off of a few guards and quite more of the citizens. We eventually got to a maintenance corridor and found a ladder; from there we got access to the roof. I had quite a few questions for the Major. First was how he trusted me so much. The rest could follow.

"So, I'm guessing that you are thinking why I trust you so much." He said, lighting a cigarette.

Wow, he was sharp. I sat down on a lawn chair that was under a table that had an umbrella with it. Jonathan sat down on the opposite end and lit a few candles with his lighter. "Well, that is simple Damien; it just took me a while to remember who you were. The eyes and the teeth kinda mess up how I remember you."

"Sir?" I said, in complete puzzlement.

"Just call me Jon, Damien. You always have. You still have your Fanshawe ID on you?" he asked, taking a drag and letting the smoke spill out of his mouth slowly, I detected trace amounts of pot in it.

"Yeah, I still do."

"Then it will say that you took Business Marketing right?" he asked, opening a Dr. Pepper and sliding one over to me.

"Thanks and yes." I said as I cracked the top and drank the delicious cherry drink down.

He smiled at me, "Now my question is how do I know that without ever seeing if you had a wallet, or its contents? How did I know I should offer you a Doctor Pepper instead of say, Pepsi or Mountain Dew?"

Oh shit. He actually knew me! Okay that explains a good chunk of why he trusted me. How long did he know me? What could he tell of my previous life? I needed answers.

"Okay then Jon, how long have you known me?"

He thought for a moment. "Since grade eleven. So we were... sixteen at the time. I've known you roughly for four maybe five years. Adam has too, the guy who was at the gates. He just didn't recognize you without your glasses and without you shaving in a while. The claws and Jessica probably distracted him too." he said, seemingly adding as he thought of it.

"So... what was I like then? As a human of course." I asked, desperate to know.

"As a human? You make it seem like you aren't human." He laughed, "Then again you totally made everyone not human by outsmarting our philosophy teacher in grade twelve. Ah good times. Anyways you are pretty much like you are now. I spent pretty much my whole day with you to see if you changed at all. Memory wiped and hunter instincts aside, you are still, in essence, Damien Aaron Parker. Well, you are Damien Aaron Parker, but you are a Hunter as well." He took another puff and tilted his head in puzzlement, " Wow, Sheardown would have an amazing amount of fun trying to explain what or who you really are."

"Sheardown?" I asked, trying to get this all together.

"Oh! Our philosophy teacher Rick Sheardown, you apparently knew him even longer before that. Man you, Adam and I would just have loads of fun picking his arguments apart. We all got over ninety percent in his class. Ahhh..." he sighed, blowing more smoke out of his mouth.

"Have you told Adam who I am?"

"Yeah, and he is in control of Phoenix squad, so you won't get any hassle from them. They are pretty tight knit and only take orders from me. Which would probably make you wonder..." he trailed off, signalling me to ask the same question that I have been thinking for the last five minutes.

"...if you guys are really the army." I finished.

He laughed. "Nope, not a single person in this base is a member of the Canadian Armed Forces, except for George there. Adam and I raided an army barracks near Fanshawe after the first week of infection. Taking the clothes and weapons we made our way to this Mall, used the supplies that were left here to make fortifications on all the entrances and gathered survivors. After we had about ten people we started to raid police stations and other army barricades in Southern London. We generally stay out of downtown, the place is crawling with infected. Though we use the radio station for the AM broadcast.

"Eventually people saw me and Adam as a leader, so I decided to make our own army in honour of my hometown by naming it after our hockey team, the London Knights. Over the course of a few weeks we have gathered tons more survivors and made the fence barricade. We also... kinda sprung a bunch of criminals from the prison near the highway."

"Really?"

"Yeah, we offered then freedom if they obeyed our rules. Which are quite simple and I'll recite them to you. Don't kill any survivors, or you will be cast out. Don't assault any survivors, physically or sexually or you will be cast out. Don't steal from a survivor, or you will be cast out. Finally, anything and everything you find is yours, except for bulk foods such as rice, and other things. Pretty much if it isn't food we can serve to everyone, eat it. I'd rather we eat all the frozen foods and meat before the power goes out or it spoils."

"Canned goods?"

"One or two cans is fine, just make sure you contribute to the greater good. Everyone in here is working on something, you get one day off. Women usually cook, do laundry or other chores. Men are either a soldier or a builder; Alex would like to know we have a full shop in the Sportchek. That isn't to say that women aren't in our army, obviously Terra is testament to that, or that men don't help out. One of our cooks is a soldier with an injured leg. You might like him, though he drips with sarcasm. We also use Sportchek as an armoury. You'd be surprised how tough it is for a zombie to claw and bite its way through football gear."

Wow, that was amazing. It took a few days of solid work in order to make the Apartments liveable and defendable against the infected. I couldn't image how hard it was to build a perimeter, add fortifications and clean out and organize a mall interior. The strength of humans always surprises me. "How many have fallen to the infection?"

"Out of all of us? Twenty three. There is a field to the east of us. We bury our dead there, if we see them. Over half were scouting teams that either never came back, or were thinned down. We learned that having more than four people seemed to attract the infected. So we keep our teams to four men or women."

I got up yawning and stretched a bit, "Nice meeting you again Jon, glad to know that somebody out there still remembers me. Now I have a slightly grumpy girlfriend to get back to."

"Damien I have one last question in regards to Jessica."

There was a voice in the back of my head that told me almost exactly what he was going to say. Maybe it was my past self expecting it or we just bonded that quickly. "Yeah man?"

"Does she still... well you know... work?" he said, flicking the butt of his cigarette off of the roof.

"You mean do we fuck?" I asked, lightly chucking.

"Yeah, does it all work down there?" he said, slightly embarrassed for some reason.

"Fuck yeah she does." I said, before getting all serious, "If you touch her though, I'll fucking claw your eyes out."

"Whoa, I was just wondering." He said, raising his hands in mock innocence.

I laughed before punching his shoulder, strangely as if it was the most natural thing in the world. "I'm just messing with you. I know you won't touch her, you already got Terra."

He grabbed his shoulder, "How did you know?"

"Because she is nowhere to be found and I can still smell her on you." I said tapping my nose, "I'm still human, but I'm still a Hunter remember?"

"Oh, well, whenever you want to become a part of the Knights just ask."

I nodded in agreement and jumped down the roof access ladder. I was walking back to Green Earth when a kid came running up to me. He must have been ten years old and it looked like he was ten years old. "Hey Hunter?" he said to make sure I was paying attention to him.

I bent down in a classic Hunter stance. "Yeah, what can I help you with?"

"Are you going to eat me? My friend Sally said that you might eat me. Is this true?" he asked, quite cutely too.

Wow, this is totally weird. Okay Sally must be around his age and teasing him. I've read about teasing before in a few novels. Alright, hmm... how to deal with this. I know! "Well, my friend Alex said that a kid might shoot me. Are you going to shoot me?"

He shook his head. "No"

"Well how about you and I make a deal. I don't eat you, you don't shoot me. If I try to eat you", I said while taking out a .50 bullet that was in my inner sweater pocket, "Then you can shoot me with this."

His eyes widened. That bullet was bigger than his hand. "Wow! Can I really have this?"

"Yeah just-"

"Nick! Stop bugging him!" said another boy, who looked like he was fifteen.

He ran up to me and the blonde-haired boy. He had black hair and a dirty face. "Sorry if he was bugging you... hun.. Hunter." He said as he noticed I wasn't quite all that human.

I stood up and offered my hand, "Damien Aaron Parker, pleased to meet you. He wasn't bugging me at all, just wondering if I was going to eat him."

"Lookit what he gave me!" Nick said, waving the bullet about.

"Umm.. Christian Cameron, nice to uh... meet you." He said, hesitantly shaking my hand.

"Well Christian, I'm going to bed; looks like it might be a little too late for him as well. I'll see you around right?"

"Oh... yeah sure" he said, slightly less nervous now that he knew I wasn't going to rip his throat out and drink his blood.

I didn't make it obvious, but a few people were watching the whole scene. I just walked straight to Green Earth. I took off my sweater and shirt, then took the pistol from the back of my pants out and laid it on the bedside table. I slowly crept into the bed that had Jessica in it. As soon as I laid down Jessica jumped on top of me and pinned me down. "Wow, not often you pin me down." I commented.

"Not often you let your guard down." She said kissing me slightly rubbing against the growing lump in my pants.

"Not often I get a full night's sleep mon, don'tcha fuck or I'll start shootin' in tha dark ya hear?" I heard Alex say half-asleep.

"We won't man, we are just going to make-out. Not often we have the chance and it looks like we still won't in here." I said while Jessica giggled.

Man I love that giggle. I also love her, and her looks and her kisses and her smile and her singing. I just loved everything about her. I really hoped we could live in harmony with this many humans. It would be nice.

With a smile on my face, a set of delicious lips on my mouth and a sexy girl on my lap, I decided to kiss her until I couldn't and dream of making love to her until the morning.

I don't see any reason for that not to work.

---------

HOT DAMN you just didn't get a sex scene! Ha! Ha! HA! Zip up your fly now you perverted person you and re-read the sexy chapter. Not saying I won't have them fuck again, just not now since this chapter is done!


	12. Direction

Do you know what I love? Mushroom Jazz by Mark Farina. Download that shit, it's amazing.

Remember: Damien's perception and storytelling goes instinctual when he's filled with adrenaline. He is a Hunter after all, he does loose solid concentration.

..:: Evolution Chapter 12 – Direction ::..

I called Jon over to my radio the next morning as we munched on Kit-Kats that we found in our room. It wasn't because the radio was strange or anything, it was just that it was playing music. Actual music. Rock to be specific, Jimi Hendrix to be exact.

"What is it?" he asked, completely ignoring the obvious.

"Dude. Radio. Music." I said as the music died down.

"Now for the news! Downtown London still looks like shit, outside of London looks like shit. Damn, dawg. Everywhere looks like shit. In fact, if you are still alive and listening to me, you know how shitty it is. Weather time now. Looks like shit. Actually it looks pretty decent, in case if you are in a basement, it is clear outside, making this wasteland seem WAY more casual than it is. Now my little list here says traffic. Roads are still clogged downtown, mostly due to the bodies, the zombies and the dead and burned-out cars here. Now for some Zepplin after a short break, you can provide the Lead." the voice said, making his own puns.

"It isn't that weird. You can hear this broadcast pretty much up to Toronto, though you'll need one hell of a radio to, even people in Northern Pennsylvania can listen to him. Ever play Fallout 3 before the infection?" Jon asked us.

"I have mon" Alex replied, I had no idea what 'Fallout' was.

"Remember Three Dog?" Jon said smiling.

"Th'nigga was the best character in that game." Alex said laughing.

"Yeah well we have a nigger up in there who decided that he wants to be what he always wanted: a disk jockey." Jon laughed "Actually he isn't even a Knight; he just lets us use the AM frequencies for our own broadcast."

"Sweet, sounds like a good guy."

"He and I see along the same lines. We have had a few survivors come in because of him. He keeps morale up and provides us with something reminiscent of our previous lives. We feed him and have a resting place when we loot downtown. If you want weird, I did meet this one guy with a book and a pen, he was actually writing a book in this..." I ignored the rest as I listened to the mystery man.

"Hey kids, seems like we have a bit of news in post-apocalyptia this morning. It seems like there is a Hunter and Witch living inside the good ol' White Oaks Outpost. Now you are asking: 'Now Midnight, why would there be a Witch and a Hunter inside the same mall that the Knights are in?' and my answer is no fucking clue. Alright I lied. Apparently these fucking things can speak and are actually not the same eat-your-brains-and-kill-your-sister infected. Reports are saying that they actually can use weapons and can live through everything. Now I'm looking for information, better yet, if that Hunter and Witch could come down for an interview, I'd be fucking amazed. Since I have nothing else on the topic, Zepplin is now your reality, enjoy your 15 minutes." Said, well Midnight apparently.

"Midnight?" Jessica asked.

"DJ Midnight apparently, seeing how he is black I don't really want to argue it with him. I don't even know his name." Jon said as someone knocked on our door.

Terra's head popped through the door, "Breakfast is getting served."

"Has everyone else eaten?" Jon asked.

"Since you ask me that every day, I wait until they have." Terra smiled.

I wasn't really paying attention to everyone; my mind was deep in thought. Who was Midnight, apart from a DJ of course? How would he know about us? How would the other survivors react that aren't in White Oaks Mall? What the hell is for breakfast and can I get some sniping in?

We ate in the common room this time, also known as the food court. I walked over to what was known as a "Manchu Wok" with the lights smashed out and "Food" written on top of it. There was a guy there in olive camo. He was about my height, fairly well built and on a crutch. His light brown hair was cut short and he had brown eyes. I grabbed a tray and waited for food.

"Holy shit a Hunter, and here I thought you only ate people." He said, chewing on bubble gum.

Wow, definitely not the conversation starter I wanted. "Only occasionally," I said smiling my fang-filled smile, "Mind giving me some food."

He just continued to stand there, "Mind telling me what the fuck you want?"

"I'll have the soup. You seem to be enjoying your job."

"Oh I love my job!" he said with little indifference, "I love how I'm not out with my friends shooting the kneecaps off the fucking zombies. I love staying here and feeding people who don't contribute."

"Oh I contribute." I said, he was starting to piss me off.

"Oh, and how does a messed up infected like you contribute?" he said, leaning over the counter.

I grabbed his uniform and dragged him over the counter, his bum leg hitting the sides as he yelled in pain, "I contribute by not fucking ripping your dick off with my claws and shoving them it up your ass!" I said before lowering him behind the counter. "Now if you are done being a fucking dick, I'd like some fucking soup."

He did nothing but smile, "You got guts kid. Here, have some soup and respect. Nobody has ever done shit about my language and speech. The name is Jaymz."

When he said that I realized why I was never stopped by anybody behind me. First of all, everybody except Jonathan, Alex, George and Jessica were too shocked that a Hunter grabbed a Knight and threatened him. Secondly, Jon didn't stop me because he knew the outcome. "Alright guys, you had your fun, now go eat Damien." Jonathan said.

I quick-saluted Jaymz and moved to a table. Soon Jessica and my other two friends sat with me as Jon and Terra sat with a few other Knights. We just chatted like we normally did around the table. George told us stories when he was in the army when he was in Afghanistan. Alex would chat about a group called Anonymous and everything that they did for fun or 'lawlz', with stingingly familiarity. Jessica and I would listen intently, adding our own comments and the like. Soon we were interrupted by a familiar face.

"Hey Damien," said the older kid from last night, he had a tray of half-eaten food in his hands.

"Hey Christian, what brings you here?" I asked.

"Well I don't know many people, but Mom doesn't mind you talking to me... so mind if I sit with you guys?" he asked, he was slightly embarrassed.

"I see no problem do you guys?" I asked the table, nobody objected.

He was silent as we continued to chat like normal. When it was slightly quieter he started speaking, "Damien, why did you have soup when there were noodles and pizzas?" he asked.

"Yeah, man, why don't you eat something more solid?" George added.

Well, this was sudden, so I answered as honestly as I could. "Well, I just obey what my body tells me sometimes. Whenever I get shot or clawed at, my body heals and I need to eat more than usual because my body needs to. When I haven't done much, I can just eat something simple as soup to restore the energy that I burn. It does take a lot to jump, but nothing a full meal or two a day can't fix. I'll probably be working today so I'll have a normal supper."

Hey it was true, after I got shot saving George and Rebecca I ate a whole chicken. By myself. I also eat quite a bit after sleeping with Jessica, not because I use so much energy, I just get my back clawed up. I guess the doctor in that book was right. Plus, I didn't complain, slight pain was a great aphrodisiac.

"Cool! How far can you jump?" he asked.

Wow, this kid was actually interested in me as a Hunter, a nice change from last night. "I've jumped from building to building without hurting my body, a good five floors down I'd say is good. Three floors upwards, depending on momentum."

He held up the bullet that I gave to Nick. "Last question: where did this come from?"

I smiled, "I'll show you one day." I said as we all finished, "now with my question, why are you really comfortable sitting with us."

"Oh, two reasons. One, the Knights won't let me sit with them. Second is that after everything that has happened, you aren't the strangest thing that has happened. You see, one time this guy with a book came into our base-"

A radio cracked. "Sir! We need you at the front gate now!" a panicked voice yelled.

"What is it soldier?" Jon said as he got up.

The rest of his table got up. George and I got up as well. "Adam just got shot! He's been hit in the shoulder! We don't know where the shot came from!"

"Fuck!" Jonathan yelled as he drew his pistol and he started to run for the main entrance.

I ran along with him. "Where are our weapons?" I asked.

"Sportchek. Do what you have to do." He said as his squad ran for the main entrance, he tossed me a walkie-talkie, "Just in case something comes up."

I ran to the Sportchek. The clothing stands were replaced with pieces of football and hockey gear. Most were spray-painted black with different painting styles over it. There was a soldier at the back of the store. He was talking on his walkie-talkie. He nodded and beckoned me over. "Damien, I have been ordered to assist you in any way possible. What is it that you need?"

Thank whoever. I was hoping I wouldn't have to rip anyone's throat out. "My MacMillan Tac-50 please I don't have time."

He ran to get my rifle while asking how many rounds I needed. I asked for twenty. He came back with the rifle and a small satchel. "You have a spotter?"

"Uh, no. Why?"

"No questions." He turned to the back "Jenkins! I'm leaving! Guard the fucking store!"

I started running out of the store with my rifle and my new bag. It was a bag meant for wearing over the shoulder and to settle on the side. "I'll meet you on the roof!" I yelled back as I jumped off of a bench. I was able to grab a ceiling fan and shimmy my way up to the roof through a broken window that didn't have a tarp over it yet.

I placed my rifle between two other soldiers that were on the roof, they hesitated when I placed my large MacMillan between them. "Holy shit! Where the hell did you get that monster?" a soldier said as he picked off some infected.

"Don't ask any questions and I won't tell any lies" I simply replied, thinking it wasn't best to tell them I ripped through 20 soldiers to get it.

There was gunfire coming from everywhere, the parking lot looked like a miniature battleground. The Infected were everywhere, running on the road, running into the barricades and dying on the barbed wire and bullets were flying everywhere. One guy that was on the mounted machine gun on a truck was shredding the invading horde. I smiled, there was nothing like a good massacre in the morning. Wow, that was morbid. Oh well. At least the guy was killing infected.

Then the guy's head exploded.

"Holy shit!" I yelled as I scanned for where the shot came from.

Then I saw a man on the roof of a Jack Astor's restaurant, between the blinking 'tor' lights of the sign. He was wearing all leather and had a long beard, which made me think 'biker' for some reasons at the back of my mind. With a pull of the trigger, I erased him from the world then informed my new partners about the guy.

That's when I noticed that there weren't many Knights out there; looking to who was shooting it was mostly leather-clad biker guys. Weird, it seemed like these guys appeared out of nowhere, then so did the infected. Then it dawned on me. These guys were planning on raiding our mall, but were interrupted by the infected.

Wow, I love luck.

My spotter came up to the roof. Why are they called spotters? They don't have any spots. Quickly he slid down beside me and the other snipers. He nodded and simply lifted the binoculars to his eyes. Damien, you want to be a good sniper right?" he said.

"Of course" I replied, firing a round into a bald-headed guy with a shotgun's head.

"Nice shot, Karol ten o'clock by the sign." he said before he continued. "A sniper follows two major rules when he is doing his job. Mark, upper left corner of Best Buy."

He missed; I clicked another round in and blew the man's chest out. "The first is to be polite. Never brag about a shot. I don't care if you've sniped the nipples off of a Witch from a mile away with a single bullet. Damien, lower left by the taxi and no offense to Jessica, all Witches creep me out."

I aimed and blew away a Smoker, I kept firing as he lectured and gave us targets. "The second is to be efficient. Mark, one o'clock black van. With your particular rifle, just aim for the centre of the mass. A round will blow a hole clean through them. Karol, second floor hotel. Other rifles are better for head-shots, but a nice solid hit can bring anything down. Damien, Hunter, far end of Jack Astor's."

Another shot. I was both clean and efficient; my eyesight even gave me an advantage. "Snipers are the most important unit in battle in my opinion. Everyone knows that a missile comes from a jet that has to fly into range to launch or a submarine that can be found by simple radar. Assault Rifle rounds come from a rifle held by a soldier which you can see. Damien, upper left Biker in the gas station, don't blow it up.

"When a sniper is in play however, you don't know where that bullet is coming from. Is it coming from that building? Was it a stray shot from a SIG P226? Was it friendly fire? From a unit lying in ambush? Where did it come from?

"That is why Snipers are so important. You can be the smartest, bravest and coldest person in the whole world, but if you are in range of a sniper, you are as good as dead. You can take the biggest, most bad-ass unit from every country and make a unit out of them. They will be cowering in fear when you drop five of their friends without them even noticing where the shot came from.

"The most powerful weapon a sniper has isn't his gun, the type of bullet he has or his brain. The greatest weapon is fear. It makes people act in ways that are poorly-thought out. I think that's why I respect you and Hunters so much."

That one took me by surprise. "Umm... sir?"

"Oh! Jake Hanson by the way, Quartermaster. I respect you because of what you are. Witches cry, Smokers cough, those Chargers yell before trying to tackle you, the Spitter is always hacking up phlegm, the Boomers burp and gurgle, and those fucking annoying Jockey-type bastards are laughing like its Robin William's best stand-up night.

"You however... I've barely seen a Hunter before it pounces. Sure it screams as it jumps, most of the time. All you have time to do though is maybe get a shot off before it's tackled you and started to rip your colon through your chest. You ran from the shop, if you didn't call back I would have thought that you were waiting for me. If I didn't radio the guys here they would have blown you away.

"The Hunter is the perfect name for you Damien. That rifle is your perfect weapon."

My radio crackled "The knights are coming.", whatever that was, the snipers started to laugh.

"Damien, you ever think that videogames would ever teach us anything?" the sniper named Mark said as he started firing more.

"I'd think it has if you are brining that up." I replied, curiously wondering what the hell was happening.

Before I could answer, I heard metal clanking coming from below us. It was coming from the entrance. It was the sound of someone jogging with metal boots. It looked like somebody actually wore a suit of plated armour. He was wearing what I thought was a pretty damn good re-make of a knight's armour. He took a few more steps and planted a fistful of spiked metal gauntlet into an infected's face.

It was Jonathan, and he had a large sledgehammer. Jessica was with him too, not armoured at all but slicing through infected like butter with those long and sexy claws. Damn, she is hot with that snow-white hair of hers. Concentrate Damien, concentrate.

A few more of similar armoured people followed, using baseball bats and other heavy solid weapons to crush the infected. A few bullets ricocheted off of the metal armour of the Knights which only served as origin points for our sniper rifles to detect. I didn't know how long they would last in a large horde, because one was coming right now.

Shit, there had to be something that I could do. I stood up and felt around my belt. Pistol would take out a few of them; the MacMillan would take a line out, but not a group. Then my hand hit a cylinder, I counted three pipes on my belt. Alright, all I have to do is just blow them all up, not in the middle of the parking lot, which was retarded. I can jump farther than the infected. Run faster than the infected. Alright, I can do this. "Guys, keep Smokers off of me."

"What?" Mark said as I flicked on the switches to all the pipe bombs.

Oh! What a delightful sound! Beep! Beeeeeeeeep! Bepbepbep! Concentrate Damien, concentrate. No wonder the infected were attracted to sound, it was really distracting. I jumped off the roof and slid across a weird metal structure in front of the mall. I slid under past Jon's swinging hammer and ran up an infected's back, launching myself off of it.

Alright, that got them into a mad frenzy. Jump onto the top of the sentry tower. Good, now make sure they are- oh yeah they are following me. Jump off; get on top of the pole with wires that were connected to other poles. Alright, please don't let a hunter jump on me. I pulled the fuses from two of the pipe bombs and tied it to the first one, making about a twenty to thirty second cord. I took off my belt and slid the pistol into the rear of my pants.

I heard the yell of a Hunter and turned to see it jumping at me, only to see it blown away by whoever manned my rifle. I took my mind off of the sight and lit the fuse on the pipe bomb. Infected were all gathered underneath the pole, and since I didn't want to destroy whatever this pole was used for. I threw the belt as hard as I could.

The belt landed almost exactly where I wanted it to, it slid underneath a SUV that was crashed into a taxi and a smaller car. Infected clamoured over the cars to get at my belt. I quickly jumped away, suddenly realizing what three high-explosive sticks would do under the three cars that had gas and were equally explosive.

I didn't see the explosion, but I saw my shadow caused by the intense light that was created in the overcast weather. A wave of heat flashed across my back and I felt a shockwave before I rolled on the blood-slicked ground. Bits of infected fell around like rain. I walked to Jonathan after hugging Jessica, blood-soaked and healing or not I wanted to make she was okay. Since his armour read JON on the shoulder plate, I talked to him after breaking Jessica's embrace. "Who the hell were those guys?"

"I don't know, but if anybody knows, it would be Midnight. We should pay him a visit. He did want to interview you."

Now that is what I needed, some kind of direction. "We'll run through the downtown. If we get to Midnight fast enough we won't attract too much attention."

---------

Shit was not right, shit was not right; shit was not right fucking shit fuck! This was not right! This was not how the plan was supposed to go! The downtown wasn't supposed to be this filled with infected. That car suddenly just burst into alarm.

Claw an infected, take out its jugular. Fire a round into another's skull. Jessica! Where is Jessica in all this mess? I call out, she's nearby. Alright, stay near the John Labatt Center. Get close to her, I have to protect her. Where is Jon? Right, Jon is holding out with Terra and a few guys nearby on the second floor. I see their firing. What was that yelling? Concrete! Fuck, jump! Why is there a metal tree here? Dodge the thrown car. Slow down, what was it?

Alright, it's a Tank. He's pissed off and he just won't die! Alright, I have no bullets left in my pistol or my rifle. My claws ached from all the melee hits that I was dishing out. Hunters were supposed to take down individual targets, not a massive horde. Jessica got the Tank's attention and she was going to be grabbed! I jumped and tackled her, we barely missed the Tank's movements. We moved to the left, it only causes the Tank to wrap his hands around a car and swing.

I only feel a pain in my back and Jessica's body in my arms as I tried to jump with her. I was flying through the air, saw a sign that said 'Museum London'. Missed a bridge girder. Hit the water. consciousness fading. Jessica! Still holding onto her holding onto me. Good. Vision fuzzy, water closing in. Head is probably going to hit som-

---------

Wake up. Get up. Try. Achieve. Walk. Heaviness. Love. Love holding on. Holding onto Love. Run. Keep running. Run with love. Where is Love going? Where am I taking Love? Carrying Love with me. Running. Avoid infected. Am infected. Night. Black. Dark. Wasn't dark before. Keep running.

Running is all I have.

Love is all I hold.

Keep running.

Run.

Fall.

Sunny. Sun out. Sun hurts eyes.

Keep running. Keep Love alive.

Run until darkness.

Just run.

---------

_Mama, we all go to hell._

_Mama, we all go to hell._

_I'm writing this letter and wishing you well,_

_Mama, we all go to hell._

Voices? Why were there voices. My head. My. Head. My head. My head is my head. Alright, thinking is good. I can't remember. Try to remember. Tank. Pain. Jessica. Weight in my arms. Jessica is in my arms. Laying back against a wall in a building. 'Ciccio's Puffios'. Alright. I can read. My mind is coming back. My had. My head is throbbing.

_Mama, we're all gonna die._

_Mama, we're all gonna die._

_Stop asking me questions, I'd hate to see you cry,_

_Mama, we're all gonna die._

Singing? Singing rather, someone is singing. Why someone would be singing at a time like this? Time. Like this. I like this. I like this singing. I might like this person's singing. Why can't I see the Singing Person?

_Mama, we're all full of lies._

_Mama, we're meant for the flies._

_And right now they're building a coffin your size,_

_Mama, we're all full of lies._

Jessica looks like she is fine. Wet, but fine. It's raining outside. There are drag marks from the door to where we were. Where were we?

_Mama, we all go to hell._

_Mama, we all go to hell._

_It's really quite pleasant_

_Except for the smell,_

_Mama, we all go to hell._

The voice was coming closer. Heavy steps, definetly male. I can barely move my arms. I can't get away. Even if I could I couldn't leave Jessica. I could barely raise my head.

_And if you would call me your sweetheart, _

_I'd maybe then sing you a song_

_But this shit that I've done with this fuck of a gun,_

_You would cry out your eyes all along._

A man came into view. He was wearing a dark leather coat and thick boots by the look of it. He placed what seemed to be a very large book at the base of a chair he dragged over.

_We're damned after all._

_Through fortune and flame we fall._

_And if you can stay then I'll show you the way,_

_To return from the ashes you call._

His leather-gloved hand slipped a finger under my chin and lifted my head up. I was forced to look at my captor and entertainment as I lay helplessly against the door. He was singing the whole time. His eyes were green and his hair ran down to his shoulders. His facial hair was long and scraggly. He didn't smell very good. He sang well though. He sat down, and then aimed a shotgun at my chest. He drank a dark liquid in a glass bottle before he laid back and took a good long hard look at me. He just spoke the last part.

_We all carry on _

_When our brothers in arms are gone_

_So raise your glass high_

_For tomorrow we die,_

_And return from the ashes you call._

Then he tilted his head back and drank down the rest of whatever he was drinking. He tossed the bottle onto the counter. It rolled off then smashed on the floor. "So," he said as he adjusted himself on the chair, "Mind explaining yourself?"

I just stared at him.

He smiled, "Mind explaining how a Hunter from Mississauga is carrying a Witch in his arms, along with that Witch being in a fair state of dress?"

I just asked him a question "Where am I?" my voice cracked out of my dry throat.

"You... you are in Sarnia. You are very close to the United States of America. The Blue Bay Bridge is nearby. Now mind answering my questions hunter?"

"Explain myself in relation to what?" I replied.

"You being in Sarnia, and you talking. Plus, if that Witch regains consciousness, will she rip me into pieces of Jonathan DesRoches flesh sticks?"

Alright, still a Jonathan, not a Jonathan that I knew. "I don't know how I can talk or think, but I've theorized that is was a random and rare occurrence where the virus has evolved to survive. Jessica, the Witch in my arms, will not hurt you unless I tell her to, or unless I can't tell her to."

"Still haven't answered by first question." He said as he placed the shotgun on the floor.

"I didn't even know that there was a Sarnia until you told me. I don't even know how I got here."

"By the looks of how exhausted you're in right now, I'd say you ran here." He said, explaining why I wasn't able to move; I burnt myself out.

"Why would I come here though?" I asked knowing her wouldn't know the answer.

"Fuck if I would know. Might have just been following the water. Sarnia is right next to one of the Great Lakes." He replied "Can you walk?"

"I don't think I can" I replied truthfully.

"Alright, this place is secure; I've been holding the basement as one of quite a few safe houses that I've been keeping in this city. This will probably hurt." He said as he grabbed my shoulders and dragged me down the stairs. He didn't turn on the lights. My legs bumped along the wooden steps. They burst into pain as Jessica's weight, although relatively light, smashed my abused legs into the wood.

So helplessly, I descended into the darkness.

---------

Read, Review. ALL THAT GOOD SHIT. Yes they will be back in London, yes this is necessary. Yes it is possible for a Hunter to get to Sarnia (which is an hour's drive from London) in a day and a night. Yes, I'm going back into a survival thing again, this IS a survival world you know, can't be too safe.


	13. Darkness

Holy fucking shit. It's chapter 13. Who would have thought it would have come this far? I certainly haven't. I KNOW THIS TOOK FOREVER!

If you are ever in Sarnia, check for Ciccios Puffios. Fucking delicious Panzerottis. Panzerotti. PANZER! *playing too much CoD: WaW*

Now it is unlucky, amazing, deviant and sexy chapter 13 (okay, maybe not). Try drinking a cold drink when you wake up and have a really dry throat. The feeling you get is amazing. This chapter takes place for the few days leading to December 1st, then it takes off when the events taken place have indeed taking place. It is bit of a time-warp, but I tried it to make sense.

Because of all the different people doing different things, I wanted to make a multiple POV chapter, rather than my single-POV chapters. FAQs about Evolution are now on my profile.

..:: Evolution Chapter 13 – Darkness ::..

"When all of your wishes are granted, many of your dreams will be destroyed."

— Marilyn Manson

_So long ago, I don't remember when,_

_That's when they say I lost my only friend._

_Well they said she died easy of a broken heart disease,_

_As I listened through the cemetery trees._

At last, I hit the last step before being dragged across the floor. I still couldn't move my legs and it took all my strength to hold Jessica in my arms. Jonathan DesRoches – who was not Jonathan Cliff from the Knights – walked off into the darkness. I couldn't see much. I can't see much. I can't see! Holy shit!

_I seen the sun comin' up at the funeral at dawn_

_The long broken arm of human law..._

Alright, at least my ears work. He's getting farther into the basement. Just close my eyes, concentrate. Get those brains working again? Okay, now open your eyes. Everything was orange. Alright! It must have been a weird bump on the head, or stars from Jessica being slammed on my legs over thirteen stairs. It was cold and slightly damp, and it smelled like pizza. I heard steps coming back.

_Well this place is old,_

_It feels just like a beat up truck._

_I turn the engine, but the engine doesn't turn._

_Well it smells of cheap wine & cigarettes,_

_This place is always such a mess_

_Sometimes I think I'd like to watch it burn._

_I'm so alone, and I feel just like somebody else._

_Man, I ain't changed, but I know I ain't the same,_

_But somewhere here in between the city walls of dyin' dreams._

_I think her death it must be killin' me._

Jonathan sat on the bottom step. "We can crash here tonight. The rain has brought up all sorts of shit and it is too dangerous to get you and your girl to my boat."

"What's the date?" I asked.

"Uhh... December 1st" Jonathan replied.

Damn, I've been running for two days. Wait... boat? "You have a boat?" I asked.

"Yeah, well it is really a shipping boat, really fucking large and can only let Hunters on, if they can jump on water." He said, lightly chuckling to himself.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, you know those huge shipping boats? Well Sarnia has a large dock that has quite a few of them cross the border into the United States. One of them must have run into some shallow water, which really could be really fucking deep for a Lake Freighter. It had its name stripped by somebody, so I've been calling it the SS Dreamer." He said as he lit a cigarette, the flare of the light making a burst of color in my orange-viewed world.

"How are you getting around in this dark basement?" I asked as I started to regain movement in my feet.

"I've crashed here several times after the infection, I know where everything is. I have found that the less light you have, the lower chance of an infected finding where you are." He pointed up, "So does a trapdoor for a basement door. So rest up Damien, we will see if you can keep up." He got up and walked away singing as I lay back on flour bags as I started to doze off.

_Love forever,_

_Love is free._

_Let's turn together,_

_You and me...._

See if I can keep up? We'll see how much... I... can... surprise... beer.... pizza... wine... puffios... I wonder how the other Jon is doing...

---------

"Fuck fuck fuck fuckfuckfuck. Shit Jon! I'm fucking bitten!" Terra swore as we stumbled into the radio building.

I held her close, she was bitten on the leg and I didn't know how much longer we could survive. My friends were dead, Damien and Jessica were blown away by a Tank in Team Rocket style with a car and my girlfriend was bitten. I could barely run. My back slammed against the elevator wall as I blew a Hunter away with my shotgun and kicked the FM96 floor button with my boot.

The elevator rumbled as we slowly came up to Midnight's floor.

"What is the date?" Terra asked.

"I think November 28th" I have no clue.

"My birthday was a few days ago." She said as we slumped to the floor.

"Really?" I said as she fell against me.

"Yeah, I'm 20 now" she said with a weak chuckle as she cuddled into my chest.

"Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you. Happy birthday dear Terra. Happy birthday to you." I sang light-heartedly as the infected's howls lowered in volume as we were raised up the building.

I kissed her forehead lightly as the door opened. A skinny black teenager with a decent sized afro greeted us with the barrel of a shotgun. "Holy shit nigga, what the fuck happened to you?"

"A hearty welcome to you too." I said as I decided to carry Terra over to one of the beds he had on his floor.

As soon as she was settled I ran over to one of the switchboards in another office across the building on the same floor. Midnight had cut off access to anything other than maintenance and the radio stations. I jumped onto our radio channel that used to be 103.1 Fresh FM. "This is Jonathan DesRoches of London Knights, I am authorizing Mission Nightcrawler. Authorization numbers 6661337 and 10011989." I repeated the message a few more times. I knew they had heard it on the first one; the radio was always tuned into this frequency in all the guard stations.

Midnight came into the office. "What's happening?" he asked.

Thinking quickly I just told him what he needed to know. "We were attacked by some biker guys. Luckily infected took over the battle but we seriously could have been fucked over if it wasn't for Damien and Jessica."

"That the Hunter and Witch?" Midnight asked as he took out a pen and notebook.

"Not now" I said as I ran to Terra.

Her leg was a mess; there was a visible bloody mess of a bite mark on her left leg. Her breathing was laboured and her skin was starting to lose a bit of its natural color. Was it from blood loss or the infection? I had no idea. I used my knife to cut away the bloody bottom leg of her pants. Taking the first-aid kit I always travelled with I carefully disinfected her wound from any 'normal' bacteria before carefully wrapping it up in bandages. I didn't care about blood poisoning or anything like that; I was scared shitless about the Infection. I didn't know if she was immune and I didn't want to lose her. She hardly complained through the whole process, she was tough through and through.

She lost consciousness a few hours later. During that time she talked less and started to lose awareness of her surroundings. We talked for the last few hours of her normal life, we both knew what would happen eventually and the loss of blood only sped up the process. They were the most painful hours of my life, watching her slowly fade away.

She was infected, and there wasn't much I could do for her but stay by her side.

Before she faded away into the darkness of forced sleep she smiled and lightly chuckled. "Hey, Love. Don't be so down you know? It isn't like you anyways. You know, I always wanted to know how it was on the other side. I might come back as a Hunter. Just make sure that if I come back as a Boomer, kill me. I don't wanna be fat."

She was tough and positive, straight to the end. I picked her barely-alive body and brought it up to an empty room with no windows a few floors up. I laid her down on a make-shift bed and then I restrained her with rope and handcuffs.

Terra had been with me all through the infection, I found her running from a group of four infected on the fourth day after the world had gone to hell. I was surprised of how fast civilization fell; it took less than a week. I was hiding in a farm out on the outskirts of London at the time and decided to grab some food from the mall area when I saw her running down the street. I saved her from the cannibalistic freaks and we had been together ever since. I have been bitten before on some of the larger attacks on the Outpost, but since I wasn't a zombie I guessed I was immune. I'm not going to lose her now.

"So, want to answer my question?" Midnight asked as came back to his floor.

"I will, but I want some answers as well. No holding back anything alright?" I said as I sat down on a chair and took one of his cigars.

Not as if I'll die of cancer.

"Well, not as if you can inject her with something that could make her all better." He said.

Yeah, not like I could just slide a needle into Damien Aaron Parker and get some of his super-virus to infect her with. Man that would be interesting. Then again, I didn't have any of his DNA to give her. That Tank blew it all away with that car…

With that car he threw at us before we got into the building! If Damien was slammed into the car, or even Jessica, there would be blood or something that could be on there! I jumped up and grabbed a med-kit and rummaged for a syringe. "The fuck you doing man?" Midnight asked.

"I'm either ending Terra's life, or lengthening it. Thanks for the idea." I said as I ran to the elevator.

I pressed the down button and the doors closed. I ejected the magazine on my assault rifle and reloaded it, while flicking on the red-dot sight. I simply just walked out of the elevator and into the street. Stealthily, I rifle-butted a zombie down as I moved to the wrecked Mitsubishi Evolution… I had no idea, there were so many types. I smiled as I remembered the days where I cared about car models.

I searched the car and found that I was in luck. There was a blood pool in a major dent where Damien was hit. The part which was strange is that the blood wasn't congealing or drying. It was just there, nicely nestled in a bent piece of metal. I was able to fill up the syringe when I noticed movement out of the corner of my eye. A low growl indicated that it was a Hunter.

As soon as it jumped I rolled out of the way and gave him a three-burst to the chest as he hit the car. The noise would have certainly signalled the infected. Oh. There they come. Shooting one-handed at the incoming infected I ran back into the open elevator. I gave an infected a nice kick to the chest before the elevator's doors closed.

I looked to the crimson prize in my hand. If this didn't work, all I'd have to do is blast her away with a shotgun, which I knew that a headshot would definitely kill her. I ran up to her floor and knelt by her body after switching my rifle for Terra's shotgun.

Her body was the pale grey shade of the infected. She wasn't moving, she was also barely breathing. I knelt beside her and injected her body with Damien or Jessica's blood. Now all I had to do was start the painfully slow process of waiting. I re-lit the cigar and came down to Midnight's level.

Led Zepplin was over and Bob Marley replaced him.

_Everything 's gonna be alright, everything 's gonna be alright_

_Everything 's gonna be alright, everything 's gonna be alright_

_So woman no cry, no, no woman no cry_

_Oh, my little sister_

_Don't shed no tears_

_No woman no cry_

---------

Holy fucking shit Jonathan was fast. Of course I was carrying Jessica at the time but that wasn't slowing me down much. "How is he running so fast?" she asked as she clung to me.

"Track, soccer and parkour my pale white Witch." He said as he jumped on top of a trash can, jumped off a closed dumpster and wall jumped over a fence.

I was able to clear the fence easily, but without the natural flow that Jonathan had. My landing slowed me down as cries of infected followed us. We continued down to the Blue Bay Bridge that connected the United States of America to Canada. I looked up to see an infected fall off of the bridge and crash into the waters below. Quite a few bodies were along the rock barriers in the water. I was slightly sickened to see some still slowly moving along the rocky shore. We ran along a series of docks as a Smoker's Tongue nearly missed me.

The waves weren't that high as Jonathan jumped onto a speedboat. Cries of infected followed us in the morning gloom. I landed on the boat as well and let Jessica sit down on the passenger seat.

Jonathan coasted away from the shore as infected started to fall over the docks and into the water. Once Jonathan was far enough away he started crossing his arms over his crotch in a swift 'suck it' motion and yelling "I'm on a boat! I'm on a boat! Take a good hard look at the motherfucking boat!" before laughing his ass off as the engine roared to life and took us down river.

Now I've never been one to argue about anything much in particular. However, speeding down a river in December while having cold water spray into your face? Not the best damn feeling in the world. After me and Jessica were chilled to the bone we saw a large boat coming up to us as we left the bay.

I heard rifle fire and looked back to the bridge. Another infected fell, but this one had a hole through its chest. "That would be Gene, you might like him." Jonathan said as we came up to the ship.

It was large, much larger than I had imagined. It would probably take me almost a minute to jump my way over it all. Soon we came up to the side of the ship and Jonathan turned off the engine and coasted his way over the waves. We came up to a rope ladder that was dangling over the ship's side. Jon tied the boat to the side of the ship from a metal bar that was seemingly drilled onto the side for just such a purpose. There were a few more boats of different sizes hooked up to the ship too.

"Damien, are we ever going back to London?" Jessica asked me.

"Honey, I was planning on leaving anyways. That mall was fine but I felt too restricted. This way we can still explore the world and have a place to call home, right Jonathan?"

He smiled "Oh fuck yeah. This boat is huge and we have loads of room. Hell, you can have half the damn ship!"

"What about Alex and George?" Jessica asked him.

"I don't know who they are but if they are alive, they can't be all that bad." He said as he grabbed the ladder and offered it to me.

We climbed up, and into our new place of refuge until we had a plan.

---------

"That's the plan! Get Operation Nightcrawler set-up and finished at zero hundred hours or I will personally kick every single one of your asses!" I yelled out.

I never thought that I'd be in charge of my own squadron. The pricks at Square One were certainly a part of the army, but these Knights were actually useful. They all should have been a part of the army in my opinion. I lightly ran a dirty hand through my hair. "Lieutenant Lapin!" a younger soldier said as he snapped to attention before addressing me.

That was new too, having a load of inferior ranks below me. All of them saluting me without question, I guess Adam and Jon had more respect and authority than I thought. Survival in structure, it was simply amazing.

IEDs and homemade claymores that Alex developed were placed at different points that humans were more prone to take. Snipers were on the roof 24/7. We had scouts placed at the Best Buy and at a Wendy's from the direction that the Biker's came from. The Mall was placed in lockdown. We had enough food for a while and it wasn't like anybody left the Mall anyways before. It has been three days since Jon left with Terra, Damien and Jessica.

Nobody left the Mall really except for Damien.

I felt a pang of sadness, there weren't any indications of him being alive and Jonathan's panicked voice didn't help the outcome either. Damn, I really liked the kid. Now all we had to do was sit tight. Damn I hope that Damien is okay.

As I went into the Mall Alex came up to me looking a bit flustered. "Hey Rabbit, chall be wantin' to come wit me so we can discuss someting."

He looked slightly upset. I've known him long enough to know when he is upset. At least he still called me by my new nickname between us. "What is it Rasta?"

He looked at a few of the Knights and smiled, giving a minor salute to which they returned casually. "Not here mon, meet me in Cinnabon in ten minutes okay?"

He walked away rather quickly as if he was supposed to be somewhere else. This worried me a lot. For one, I have never seen an upset Jamaican. I'm not racist or anything but I have never seen one frown at all in actual sadness. Well, except for Rebecca's funeral. Alex was sad there but this was different. I moved through the food court and proceeded to Cinnabon at the other side of the mall.

I walked in through the office door past the ovens into a small storage room. There was a desk for the manager but the rest was shelves of flour, cinnamon and brown sugar. Along with any other products they sold like bottled pop. Why weren't these materials moved? They could use the flour and liquids.

I was at the very back when Alex snuck in rather suspiciously. Like he didn't want anyone to know that we were meeting here. He saw me and waved me over. "Hey mon, did you know 'ow I got in here tha first time?"

I didn't and shook my head. "Damien left a key mon. He actually left a key he had from Mississauga and was able to get in here."

I shook my head again, this time in amazement. "Wait, how did he know that the keys he had actually opened something. Let alone something in London?"

"That is what I 'ave been tinking mon. I tink that Damien is actually getting betta'. That or the virus is now fused wit his body perfectly and it is makin' him rememba more tings." He said as he fumbled with the safe.

Wait, how did Alex know the combo for the safe? "Hey man, where did you get the combination. For the lock?"

"Damien told me mon, right after he gave me the key. He worked here! He said that if he eva was gone for too long that we look in here for an answer to where he is going."

"Really? He said that?"

"Look mon, we've both known him for pretty much tha entire infection. I doubt that we both would be alive if it was not for him. I trust in any of his plans. I wanted to keep you in it because I trust you more than any of these Knights. They are wit Jon, are you wit me?"

As if I needed to think about that one. "I'm with you man. These bikers are going to kill us and if they don't, something else will. I don't think this is a perfectly defendable location like the Apartments. If Damien has a plan then I am all for it."

Alex removed a box from the safe and opened it up. A phone and a small letter opened up.

"_Hey guys! (Jessica too if you are with them, though I would never leave you behind.)_

_I've been thinking for the past while that we are just keeping it lucky around here. Everyone I walk by has a hand on a pistol, same with Jessica. Alex, you look like you need a new place to blow up and George... you seem too "lone wolf" to actually command anything here. Plus you know what I am talking about when I am discussing defence._

_I'm thinking of a new locale. A new location that we just haven't thought about yet. One that lets us keep our freedom yet if perfect for defence. I noticed one thing about the infected in our travels._

_They can't swim._

_So I'm thinking... where is a location that is secure, away from land yet still accessible, gives us the ability to go wherever we want and still get the supplies we need? A fucking boat. Sarnia actually has a port we can use, then we can just somehow drag it so that it becomes beaches along relatively deep sands._

Alex smiled at the attempted drawing of a large boat dragged into the sand.

_As for contacting me I have a military cell. Waterproof, GPS and all that good stuff. I tested it out and cell phone towers are still on or whatever they use for cell phones to work. Might as well use them before they conk out right?_

_Your Hunter in the Darkness,_

_Damien Aaron Parker_

I took the phone and dialled the number at the bottom of the page, hoping that he would pick up.

---------

I climbed up the rope ladder that dangled over the ship and was greeted with a .44 magnum barrel in my face. I looked over the black duster jacket to see a slightly man with a poker face size me up. Seeing as we were at a stand-off until Jessica and Jonathan got up here.

He was slightly taller than me, maybe six-foot-two with a black cowboy hat. He was also fairly built; I still could probably take him as a Hunter. Standard black shirt with ripped black jeans and a big belt buckle that read "Texas" over a gold cow skull. Texas. Texas Toast. I could sure go for some French toast right now made from Texas toast-sliced bread. Fuck I love my French toast. Oh, yeah the gun.

Something was amiss about Gene. Then I noticed it, he had red eyes. I was so used to the infected having red eyes that it didn't faze me at the slightest. Looking at any other irregularities I noticed that his hand had claws, albeit smaller than mine. His skin was pale, but not dead-grey like mine or Jessica's.

This man was a common infected.

"Ummm... Hi?" I tried communicating with him; if he can point a gun and not blow me away just yet, hopefully he can speak.

He took the gun off my head and laughed. "Oh good, want ta blow you away now would I? Plenty of that goin' around!" he said with... a slight British accent?

The world has gone to hell, zombies rule the earth, I'm an endangered species and I'm concerned about a man's accent. Truly these are troubled times.

"Ah good, you've met Gene. Gene, Damien. Damien, Gene." Jonathan said as Gene shook my hand, Jessica looked at him with probably the same expression as I was. "Jessica, Gene. Gene, Jessica."

"Bloody hell! An actual Witch that doesn't want to cut my head off! This is turning out to be quite a day now isn't it? Nice to meet you." He said as he shook Jessica's hand with a bit more caution than I.

He put his .44 away on his belt and went back to his chair, picking up his sniper rifle and firing at the bridge again. Jonathan motioned to follow him so I did. I took Jessica's arm and dragged her with me. We entered the main section of the ship, past a few rooms with instruments and to a small set of rooms, each with a sealable door. Within each cabin there were four beds into the walls. "This ship runs internationally, so they have sleeping quarters for the sailors. Do what you will to it, I don't give a shit. The walls are nice and thick and are soundproof so you won't hear me playing Guitar Hero at five in the fucking morning eh?" he said lightly punching my shoulder.

I heard a ringing in my pocket.

I fumbled through the zipper on the right leg of my pants and found a phone ringing. "Jesus fuck, an actual phone call. I thought they wouldn't ever exist again. What are you waiting for?"

I was waiting for the reason that I had it. Didn't I put t in my pocket when I placed... it in the safe! Alex decided to open it! I hld it to my ear. "Damien"

"Oh tank God you are okay mon! What happen? We 'avent 'erd from you in such a long time mon! Where are ya and everyting?" Alex's voice sounded through the phone.

"I'm around Sarnia, long story that I don't remember. Is Jon or Terra there?"

"No mon, they haven't returned. Tha base is in lockdown. Nobody in or out in case the Bikas come back."

Shit. That isn't good. "Listen, we found a good place. It is a boat offshore, near America and all."

"Aww fuck yeah mon! That be a good ting! It be getting mighty stuffy in here boss. How we be gettin' to ya?"

Jessica mouthed "Is Terra and Jon okay?" to which I shrugged, then a "Is Alex and George coming?"

"Hey, is the rabbit going to come out of his hole with you?"

"Yeah the rabbit is," another voice sounded to which I flashed thumbs up, or rather a claw to Jessica, who seemed a bit happier that some of her friends are alive.

"Good now you got to get yourselves down here. We'll be keeping an eye out for any sign that would indicate that you are in Sarnia. Flares will be a good way, since they are silent. See you anytime brother."

"Yeah you too. One love mon one love." He said then he hung up.

"I'm going to assume we are going to have a few more people coming in a day or two?" Jonathan DesRoches asked.

"Yeah, hopefully." I felt Jessica shiver against my body. "You have anywhere warm? She's pretty cold."

He lead us through the ship close to the entrance. Another shot fired and I thought I heard Gene say "May you find peace in the next life, and may you find it within yourselves to forgive me."

"Hey, he might have a crucifix but he ain't religious." Jonathan said as we followed him to the mess hall.

A good chunk of the hall was stripped and piled on a far corner. Carpets and mats of seemingly expensive quality were on the floor. There were five bookshelves along two walls in the corner surrounding a group of comfortable couches and chairs. A makeshift fireplace made from half an oil barrel and a homemade filtration system was in the corner, making the place smell like burnt wood. It was pretty good too, there was already a fire and I didn't realize how cold and wet I still was. Both me and Jessica moved closer to the flames. "We are finding a way to keep this place warm in the winter. We don't want to use a generator just yet and we have no way of starting the ship up. We don't want to. If we can get this working then winter will be much more bearable."

"Seems like a good idea" I said, it looked like it could work at least to keep the mess hall warm.

"Massive blankets for the rest of the ship though. We are working on sealing everything and other ways of keeping rooms warm. Might make mini fires or something."

Jessica shivered a bit then calmed down. "Alex would think of something." She said simply, staring into the flames.

Jonathan sat down in a chair and pressed a remote. An iPod flicked to life in a small speaker system. Jazz and a mix of something else played. "Hear that urban mixed into it? Beats and scratches, lyrics and effects? It's called Mushroom Jazz, made y the late DJ Mark Farina."

I paused and finally relaxed a bit in front of the fire. Loads of wood was stacked in the corner. Soon a nice flowing set of lyrics flew through the speakers. Something about a guy named Charlie Tuna. I asked Jonathan "Why does everyone sing to something now?"

He smiled. "I was once at a Jazz bar drinking alone. There was a storm outside and everyone was eating by the candlelight cast by all the tables. There was a spotlight on a man with a saxophone and another by a drum set. The drummer cast a light beat nice and smooth with some top hat taps. Every once in a while the man would look up into the ceiling with blue eyes as the other man played saxophone to his beat. Everyone seemed to be moving to the beat. People moved to the beat, the bartenders and the girls. There was one girl who was at the bar. She was skinny and brunette, wearing a simple red dress, her coat had a ticket hanging from the left inside pocket.

"She was drinking to the beat. I could tell she swallowed every time the drummer hit a certain beat. The man across smoking blew at the beat. The ring of the cash register rang at the beat. The thunder resonated at the beat. Then I realized that we were all moving to a beat. We moved to the beat of the heart, the beat of the drum or the beat of our minds, a beat beaten down in the world as it were.

"It reminded me of the slave men of ancient civilizations rowing to the beat. Servants spinning pottery to a beat. People dancing around fires to a beat. People singing to a beat. It is what we are inside. We make our own music. It is what inspires us. For me it could be the wail of a sax, for you the strum of a guitar. For Jessica the sound of a voice from the darkness.

"I might be rambling but I believe we are all calmed by a beat. We fight for that beat. We live for the song. Humanity is now at extinction and for now the only thing we have left to cling to, save for happy memories and music. Music can be linked to a memory

"Therefore we sing to remember. We sing to forget. We sing to hope."

---------

_Panic! Tied! Restrained! Can't hunt! Noises! Hide. Hide. Hide. Can't hide. Kill! Can't kill. Can move? Cannot move!_

Wake up the dawn and ask her why? 'A dreamer dreams' she never dies. Wipe that tear away now from your eye. Slowly walking down the hall, faster than a cannonball. Where were you while we were getting high?

_Wake up? Wake up! Wakeupwakeupwakeup! Already awake! Hands on me! Truggle! Must get away! Get away! Safe to hunt again! _

Some day you will find me caught beneath the landslide in a champagne supernova in the sky. Some day you will find me caught beneath the landslide In a champagne supernova. A champagne supernova 'cause people believe that they're gonna get away for the summer.

_Why can't get away? Why?_ Wait. Why? _Why ask questions?_ Why not? Pain! _Pain!_ Struggle to stay awake! Who struggles? Why... who does? I do! Struggle! Something is holding me down. Down? Stop and think. Who is holding me down? Maybe if I open my eyes... light! _Pain! Light is pain! _No I just opened my eyes too fast. Fast is relative to slow. Relative. Ohhhh... feels like I've been bitten by a sick bug. Bitten? I was bitten! I'm infected! I have to get away now for Jon! I can't move! Why... why can't I move? Please let me move... let me move.... voice please let me move...

"You and I, we live and die. The world's still spinning round, we don't know why. Why, why, why, why?"

Why? Why am I alive? I'll just open my eyes. _Slowly_! Open them slowly. Blonde hair. Is that Jon? Jon! I tried to speak but only a dry, hoarse screech left my mouth. Why can't I speak? My throat was killing me.

"How many special people change? How many lives are living strange? Where were you while we were getting high? Slowly walking down the hall, faster than a cannonball. Where were you while we were getting high?"

Have to speak. Have to speak. Have to speak. I took air into my lungs and tried my best. "Hhhhhiiiiiiggggghhhhhh" I said to him, repeating what he said.

He smiled, his eyes staring into mine. My heart beat a bit faster and I was more aware of my surroundings. I was handcuffed and tied down to a bed. I. Who was I. Who am I? "Hi there? Terra is that you?"

Terra! That is who I am! I am Terra Belanglo! Oh thank God I can... what is this pain in my head? Ahhhh......fuck this hurts. My throat is killing me. Fuck I remember a lot now! The Mall! Damien! Jessica! Alexander! Jamaica mon! Jamaica is an island surrounded by water. Water. I need water. "Waaa. Waattterrrr."

He quickly grabbed a bottle and held it to my lips; the liquid burned my throat as I drank in what seemed to be two days. I could literally feel the water running down my throat and spread throughout my chest. I closed my eyes and sighed. That felt wonderful. I tried to move my hand to caress my head but I could barely move it.

Jonathan hesitated but took the handcuffs off my hands. I moved them to my head when I looked at them. My fingers were elongated claws, the insides looked sharp. They were as sharp as Damien's claws. Holy fuck! I'm a fucking Hunter! "What happened to me?" I almost yelled in a dry raspy voice as a bit of my strength gave out and my arm landed on my stomach.

Jon looked into my eyes and frowned. "You were infected. You died."

That didn't make sense. If I was infected I should be running around like a lunatic ripping people apart until either I mistake a jump and kill myself or someone blew me away. I motioned to drink a bit more, to which he helped me. "So why am I not eating you? Or whatever infected do."

He smiled again, "Since you were going to die anyways," he paused, rubbing the back of his head "I kinda injected you with what I thought was Damien's blood. Luckily it was or-"

"You what?!" I interrupted him, trying to sit up but I was held down by a belt used on trucks.

"Oh, let me help you with that." He said as he fumbled with the clasp, "I injected you because if there was any chance of you coming back to me, I wanted to take it. I didn't want to lose you forever you know."

Well, that was sweet in a weird way that I wouldn't have thought before the infection. Since I wasn't completely infected I guess Damien's strain of virus took over the changes. At least I can think clearly. Damien said he has memory trouble over the first month. I felt the restraints loosen and I sat up in a bed. "Why tying me up?"

"Well I had to keep you under observation. If you didn't end up like Damien or turned into a Boomer I would have had to pop a cap in your skull" he said as he held a pistol to my head mimicking blowing me away.

That fucking safety better be on. "Yeah, don't tie me up, unless we are in bed okay?"

He laughed, "No problem love, nice to see your humour is intact."

I wasn't annoyed. It made sense. I had to admit this was weird to me out to every level. My shirt was stained with blood, and it was definitely not from me earlier or... fuck. I grabbed my shirt and lifted it up. Oh, it was just on my shirt, my breasts were fine. It's a shame how they didn't grow at all over the course of my changes. Why do they still have to be fucking B cups?

"Uhhh what are you doing? Not that I'm complaining." Jon said as he was at a good angle to also check out my goods.

"I'm making sure that my chest wasn't slashed, and not like you hasn't seen them before." I said smiling.

"Well, you coughed up enough blood and me and yourself about an hour ago." He said slightly blushing, "plus your smile is as creepy as Damien's now."

"What day is it?"

"December 1st. That's only twenty five more shopping days until Christmas! What can I get for you?"

I laughed. I flicked my tongue lightly over my teeth, they were definitely sharper. I guess I'm not so photogenic anymore. "How is everyone else?"

"Damien and Jessica are still MIA, I have no way to contact the Knights. I put the place on lockdown."

I cursed. Then I heard an explosion coming from outside. Midnight yelled out and swore as well. Jonathan helped me to my feet and helped me move to the window. I could barely move my legs. A Hummer was breaking through a line of infected.

We had to get into the elevator. There was only one Rabbit and Jamaican that owned a Hummer...

---------

I woke up to the sounds of guns firing.

Since the whole time I have been in this goddamned infection. Gunfire has never really been a good thing. People were screaming too. Did infected break into the mall?

George woke up as well and instantly grabbed the pistol as his bedside table. "The fuck is that?"

"I don' know mon. Care ta look?" I said as I also grabbed my pistol and shotgun, slipping my bag over my shoulder.

"Sure thing Rasta" he said as he moved to the door.

I slowly moved to the door as well, one hand on my pistol as I flicked off the safety. Laughing and gunfire was still prevalent over the screams. I saw a young woman whose name I think is Mary run across the hall. Blood sprayed from her body as she fell to the ground.

Infected don't use weapons.

"Shit" George said as he took his rifle and aimed down the hall "How the fuck did they get in?"

A leather-clad male came into the hall and put a hole in Mary's slowly moving body. George fired a few rounds and the biker dropped. A biker just died. They got into the Mall without us noticing? How did they? Explosions sounded in the night from outside.

We moved stealthily to the food court and saw Knights holding off the Bikers as a few infected ran into the Mall. We moved away and into _Things Engraved_. "Shit, how tha hell are we to get out?" I asked George, who was eyeing the door.

He waited a moment. "We need guns and we need the Hummer. I'll go to Sportchek and open the back door and get guns into the car, you get the damn Hummer alright? Follow me."

We moved out of the store and down a barely-used strip of the mall. We encountered a few more bikers, but we were able to drop them before they noticed us. We went past the Gap and kept in mind that some entrances might have been opened. Soon we came to Sportchek. George and I ran to the back cash where a teenager was keeping watch with a shotgun. He didn't fire when he noticed us. "Hey, you can't be back here!" he said as we burst into the backroom where our weapons were kept.

Before he could raise his rifle we aimed our weapons at him. "Son, we will be able to blow you away before you pull that trigger, put it down or we will kill you."

He started to raise his gun before George put a hole in his head. "Fuck! Why you do that mon? He might not 'ave shot us?"

He looked at me, "You wanted to take that chance?"

The man makes a good point. George opened the back door to a supply hall. "The Employee entrance is through here, run through this hall, take the stairs and you will come to the parking garage." He tossed me the keys. "You have ten minutes before I find something else alright? Stay frosty."

Stay frosty? Where did he think he was, in Modern Warfare Two? I ran down the hallway as fast I could with my shotgun at the ready. Luckily nobody was in the hall and I descended the stairs to the parking lot. I heard voices and firing coming within. I went up to the lights in the hall and smashed them out.

Slowly I opened the door silently. Luckily no light came from behind me since I took out the lights. A few bikers were over an open manhole. Of course! That is how they got in past the explosions! They used the sewer system to get under us. A few more guys came up out of the hole and went up the access stairs to the mall.

I waited for a minute before thinking my options. I couldn't start the Hummer without them noticing and killing me. I couldn't take them out with my shotgun without them being able to fire back. My hand brushed down to my belt to grab my pistol when I remembered I had another weapon that I had only used on the infected.

I lit the end of the pipe bomb without turning on the buzzer. I waited for the fuse to almost run out before I threw it at them. They didn't know what hit them before they exploded. A leg flew by me as I ran to the open sewer hole. I stopped short when a few bullets fired from the hole. I tossed another pipe bomb down the hole and waited it to explode before I sealed the manhole, putting the larger pieces of men on top for weight.

I quickly jumped into the Hummer and started it up. I heard the screeching of some infected and I stepped on the gas. The bikers were able to open up the garage door before they invaded the Mall and the Infected were able to get past the barriers and explosives. I drove around the mall, running over infected and followed the explosion marks where the claymores had gone off. I heard a few roars of Tanks in the fading sunlight. If we didn't get out we were fucked.

I drifted the Hummer as best as I could to the opening supply door at the back of Sportchek. I stepped out as George dragged a few bags behind him. We had about ten minutes before the Infected overran the mall. The bags were heavy as hell as we threw them into the back of the Hummer.

"The fuck are you going?" a male yelled at the door.

It was Adam, bloody and bruised pointing a rifle at us. We were caught red-handed with a good chunk of Knight Weapons in our hands and Hummer. He lowered his weapon, "Help me with this bag." He said as he dragged another large bag with his uninjured arm.

George and I nodded in agreement as we helped him into the Hummer. I grabbed the front seat and we started to drive. George opened the sun roof and shot as many infected as he could, keeping an eye out for Chargers and Tanks, our two main concerns in a vehicle. One Charger almost made it to us when it stepped on an explosive. "Could you drive any fucking worse?" he yelled.

"Mon, no amount ta good driving be any help for your shitty aim." I yelled back to him.

"Both of you shut the fuck up and fucking drive." Adam yelled from the back, trying to bandage his arm.

"Ah shut up one-arm" George said before firing a few rounds into a Smoker that was on the roof of the Mall.

"Fuck! Tank!" George yelled.

I saw a RPG move past my peripheral as Adam handed it to George. "I thought that our exit might need to..." he paused and flicked his aviator glasses on, "get explosive."

We both groaned at the Horatio-like comment. It was funny how in a desperate, fucked-up, and scary time as this. We can still smile at a shitty joke. "I swear to God I'm going to blow a fucking hole in your head when I am done with this Tank." He said before firing off the rocket.

The rocket blew apart the chest of the Tank. It flew backwards and landed on one of my claymores and leapt up into the air before crashing to a halt in a barbed wire barrier. It was amazing in its own way. "Chaww mon! Da Tank fuckin' bounced and shit!" I said as I skidded by the corpse and slammed the side of the Hummer into a Hunter and a few Infected.

We didn't look back as we hit Wellington Road. We just gunned it as Infected followed us as fast as they could. Dodging broken cars we drove into the one place we might find our friends alive. Turning down Commissioners Road we hit Highbury and took the back way to London's core.

We passed a fairground. Stalls were manned by the infected. Blood splatters covered a rollercoaster car that had derailed and hit someone. A man was hanging from the top of a Ferris wheel. Infected dropped from rides in a drunken stupor. I had a sudden craving for candy apples. "Think there is cotton candy in there?" George said off-handed.

"I don't think anything is left there." Adam replied.

We navigated through traffic and turned down a street that lead us to the Radio Building Outpost when a group of infected was in our way. "Throwing a pipe bomb!" George yelled.

"Fuck man I'm right here. Don't have to yell." Adam said.

"I'll get anyone inside; you keep the infected off of me." George said as I backed into the building.

I smashed through the doors and backed up to the elevator as it opened. Adam was leaning out a window firing his rifle as I fired my pistol into the oncoming infected. I heard a door open and slam as two people got into the back. "Where the hell is Midnight?" Adam yelled.

"He's staying back! He said he had a duty to keep his broadcast going! What the hell happened?" a familiar voice asked back.

"Fuck that! Why is Terra a fucking infected?"

I almost forgot we were fighting the infected. The door slammed and a claw pointed to the opening in the building that I created. "Fucking drive!" a feminine but slightly scratchy voice yelled.

Needless to say I gunned it as three rifles shredded through the Infected. Soon we were free. "We going to the mall?" Jonathan asked.

"No, we are going to Sarnia." George said back.

"Why the fuck are we doing that?"

"One... Damien is there, the second is," he paused and looked at me, "Adam will fill you in, then you fill us in on Terra."

So we left London behind us in the same conditions as the rest of the world: broken, dying and in ruins.

---------

Jonathan DesRoches spun the handle on the door leading to the lower part of the ship and led us down a hall. The wall said 'The Armoury' in spray-paint. There were work lights down here, connected to a battery that was being charged by the sun. Jonathan explained that Gene and him took the roadside construction lights and rigged them so they could be used for actual lighting and such.

We ended up in a room with three doors, one led the way we came and the other two were on opposite ends of the room. "In case if you are wondering how we keep our weaponry, we have the guns in one room and the ammo in another. We have a room in the centre here for assembly and take-out. Special ammo is safely packed away; unless we are expecting actual firefighting we don't touch that stuff."

Jessica raised an eyebrow "What do you mean special equipment?"

He laughed as he opened the left door. "Well, we were able to raid both U.S Military bases up here and then got to as many Canadian ones that we felt were needed. Then we hit the gun stores."

He pointed to one wall that was filled with guns. "Over there is simple, assault rifles. C7s, M16s, SCAR, M4s, and a few heavy M249s and Minimis in case we feel like killing a hundred of them. We also have all the fun attachments and gadgets along with them like sights and M26 Shotgun attachments."

My eyes widened, I was amazed on how they got all this equipment here. "Ohhhh shiny"

"Very, we can teach you later how to use them but keep in mind that we taught ourselves. Plus who needs an ACOG or something like that when you shouldn't be making noise at all?"

I pointed to Jon and said to Jessica "I like how he thinks." To which she just shook her head and smiled.

"Then in the drawers we have pistols and magnums, some we do keep in display cases upstairs." He said smiling.

"Why is that?"

"Well you've seen Gene's Magnums right?"

"I've been introduced" I said, remembering how he pointed one at my face.

"Those are for Hunters, Boomers and Smokers. You know, the special Infected. However he has one for Tanks, Chargers, and sorry to tell you Jessica, Witches too. I find that the M4-" His voice faded out as I saw something that I missed from the Mall.

"Is that a MacMillan Tac 50?" I spoke with what appeared to be almost childish amazement.

Jessica laughed "Simple minds..."

"Quiet you, yes it is. Want to take shots with it at the bridge?" Jonathan asked, "Gene would love to see how you handle that. He managed to scrape up a Dragunov with a surprisingly large amount of ammo. He usually just takes his time setting off car alarms and having fun.

I quite frankly was happy to. I loved this rifle. So I set mine up near Gene, who just nodded at my presence before firing into a van. I saw the lights going off and I knew that infected would be coming soon.

"I would have to say that this Infection isn't so bad." Gene said as he shot a Smoker from the wires.

"Why would you say that?" Jessica said as she sat back, wearing a sweater three sizes too large.

"I can answer that" Jonathan replied as he opened a Guinness and looked through high-powered binoculars.

"You see, I believe that this is the best way my life could have ended up. I was going nowhere, not like in a dead-end job but as in life itself. I'd play video games and read books and wonder why my life couldn't be like that. Why couldn't I just leave home on some epic quest that people would sing about for centuries? Why couldn't I set out to slay the dragon or save the princess? Why couldn't I jump into a German bunker and kill everyone in it earning the respect of my men and the admiration of my country?

"It depressed me to no end. Not the kind of depression that actually affected your life in ways of performance or enjoyment. Fuck I enjoyed life, I just wished for a different one. I'd be working and I'd take a deep breath and I'd sigh, my heart yearning for something grander that what your life could ever offer. Everyone tells you that you have to live a certain way and you end up trying to please others. You try to please your girlfriend's parents so that they approve of her choice. You work to please your boss so he doesn't fire you. You earn money to please the banks so that they don't harass you with bill calls. Nobody is truly free in a free world.

"Look at it now. You can have what you want and make a life for yourself. Those who survive this will live on in eternity as the ones who persevered when all seemed lost. The human race will bounce back, if anything we are stubborn like that. Those who lived on society's wing have fallen and the strong have survived" he liked at me "or changed into something entirely different. It isn't a bad thing. It's life. We have just forgotten it in our rule of the world.

"So now this is our time. This is our world. The healthy human mind doesn't wake up in the morning thinking this is his last day on earth, but I think that is a luxury not a curse. To know you're in the end and surviving it is a kind of freedom-"

"Stop stealing Captain Price's speech from Modern Warfare 2, you were doing fine until then." Gene interrupted with a single shot that blew apart a Boomer.

We all laughed and I was even more confident in my survival. I've survived up to now with nothing but my friend's and my claws. I didn't need my old life back; I had to make the life I had now count. This is what I owed myself, and maybe Jessica. Not that I actually owed her anything, I just love it when she is happy, so I am happy as well. I aimed and shot at a tanker filled with something.

The blue flames were incredible.

---------

We pulled into Sarnia and were cruising down the highway to the Blue Bay Bridge when we noticed something. Barely any infected were coming after us. I spent the last hour going over what George, Adam and Alex told me. All of those people dead, just because I overlooked something? I felt terrible, and I wanted to go back to check for survivors, but I knew it would be too dangerous. The Infected in London would have been worked up to a high frenzy and it wouldn't stop for a long time until they calmed down.

Nothing we could do but start over.

About ten minutes later when the bridge was in sight, a Hunter landed on our car and snarled at us through the sunroof. Terra didn't miss a beat and lunged into his chest. We stopped the car in time to witness her land on the ground on top of the Hunter, then seeing her rip its head off. Scary, but she was still sexy. She ran into the car with a good chunk of the Hunter's sweater, wiping the blood off.

"Holy shit woman. Ch'all be ripping off head of Huntas and everrytink. How'dja know to do that?" Alex said as he navigated through dead traffic.

The blush was even more accented through her pale, smooth flesh. "I didn't, I just obeyed my instincts. What Damien has is amazing; I've never felt such power."

"Well if your instincts tell ya ta rip off George's head, feel free to won'tcha girl." Alex said laughing as he hit George in the shoulder.

"Oh I don't know Alex, I've always liked Jerk chicken, I wonder if Jamaican tastes the same?" she said as she licked her lips and raised a claw to her chin in an inquisitive manner.

Everyone laughed as we cruised down the road. We stopped shot when we saw a blue-flamed explosion. "Well that is abnormal enough to check out." Adam commented.

"All in vote of possibly saving Damien's ass?" George said.

Everyone including me raised our hands. We kicked it until a large pile-up made us divert off of the highway to the side of the bridge. We noticed that there was a slightly higher concentration of Infected here so we turned off the car and decided to walk the rest of the way. "Melee first guys, I don't want to give away our position until we need to." George said as he unlocked the back of the truck. Adam looked at me as if I was going to comment.

"Hey man, I think it's a good idea too. The man does have as much experience as us in this situation, he is just stating things off-hand to keep the mood serious" I whispered to him as I grabbed a fire-axe along with my favourite rifle.

"Alright, but just so you know I'll take orders from nobody but you" he paused, "and Damien. That's it though."

I smiled; we really should have been in the army. We hoofed it closer to the bridge and surveyed the situation. Most of the Infected were on the bridge or in the security gates that led to America. There was a park underneath the bridge that met with the river that led out to the Great Lakes. I wondered which one it was.

There used to be some kind of barricade here that led to a makeshift dock. We slowly walked under the bridge, avoiding detection from the mess of infected above until we heard the crack of a rifle. It was distant, but still was a threat. Instantly we moved to cover behind rocks and bits of the barricade.

"The fuck was that?" Adam whispered.

"No fucking clue mon, anybody hit?" Ale asked.

"No, who was-" he stopped when an Infected's body cracked against the pathway under the bridge.

I believe every one of us yelled "Fuck!" as the body hit the ground. Terra was the closest one and examined the body. "This guy was shot off the bridge, he's got a good hole in his chest."

"Shotgun?" I asked.

"No it looks... well it looks like a sniper hit him. Single shot to the torso. Probably enough force to take him off the bridge if he-" she paused.

"What? What is it?" Adam asked.

"I hear a lot of footsteps running over us and it might be coming this way."

"Shit, you sure they aren't just running around with everything out there?" George said as another crack sounded.

"Oh they might be but there is quite a few. Plus there is a boat out there, a bit to the American side and I think the shots are coming from there." Terra said.

Looking a bit to the far side of the bay there was indeed a beached boat there a good bit offshore. "So how do we get his attention?" I asked.

"I got flares mon, thought we might need'ta get someone's attention an' whatnot mon." Alex said as he pulled out a few long sticks.

Adam was about to say something before a howl sounded from around the corner. Adam then moved to the corner and peeked around it. "Shit! We got Infected coming up to us from this side! We have about a minutes o get those fucking flares going and load up! Terra waves those fuckers around like crazy!" he yelled before moving from the wall and started engaging the Infected.

He started running towards us as we capped off the flares and started waving them around. Hopefully Terra was right about Damien being there. Otherwise we were not going to get out of this one easy.

---------

"Do those look like flares and gunfire to you?" Gene asked.

"You know, they do." Jonathan said.

"Shit, you think we should investigate?" Damien asked.

Really? Do you really fucking think so Damien? Wow your insight sometimes shows through. I laughed a bit on the inside. Ah, sometimes that guy killed me. Well, apart from however much dead I am now. "Yeah, could be them lemme take a look."

He looked for only a few seconds before getting up and running into the ship. "Fucking load up! It's them and it looks like they just got attacked!"

We didn't wait long as we ran downstairs. Damien started throwing a few weapon on the table and Gene ran for ammo. "Get them on the boat and load them up there, it is about five minutes until we get there. I'll take a shotgun, I've already got the ammo in my bag. He said as he took the shotgun from the table and his beaten backpack from the side from a hook.

I grabbed a M16 along with Damien. I liked using my claws though, I didn't want to tell anyone but I actually took some pleasure in ripping my foes apart with my bare hands. I wasn't the strongest girl in my past life. Feeling the adrenaline and rush in a battle when you are against huge odds and winning in amazing and I always relished in the bloodshed.

Maybe I was slightly insane, I didn't care. It kept me alive. However the only thing dominant in my life was Damien. He was the only thing stronger than me. That and Tanks but all you had to do was get a good hit in to kill a Tank. Maybe it was a primal instinct or maybe a bit of Hunter got into me but I felt slightly... submissive when I am with him. Maybe it was love, I certainly did love him. My mind shook from my own thoughts as we ran upstairs, loading our equipment.

We took a larger boat. We didn't know how many we were taking and we didn't want to take any chances. It just meant we got there a bit later. I got into the boat and Damien moved behind me. I caught a bit of his scent, it was something so different, yet so welcoming. I leaned backwards into him and made him sit down on the side with me on his lap as Gene juiced the engine. "Anything wrong babe?" he asked.

"Nothing much, I just don't want to lose you in whatever we face over there." I said as I wrapped my arms around him.

I have horrible timing for this.

Jon winked to us and went below with our weapons. "You know we don't have time for this. You know, no time for... well fucking around." He said as he nuzzled my neck lightly.

I kissed him lightly. We just stared at each other for a second, our unnatural eyes staring into one another. Suddenly Damien grabbed the back of my head and kissed me deeply, making me squeak in surprise before I felt my body relax and let his tongue into my mouth. He then kissed along my cheek and I tilted my head to the side, exposing my neck to him, which he kissed and nipped. I whimpered submissively as my jeans pressed and rubbed into his as heat started to rise between us. We were getting closer; we could really hear the gunfire now.

My heart was racing and I didn't know if it was because of the anticipation of the upcoming battle or because I was in the arms of the man I loved. He broke our little bit of passion. "Sorry love, but we got to prepare and I think fighting with a hard-on will be... well hard on me."

"You've got a thing with puns." I said as I got of his lap, gently swaying my ass side to side as best as I could as we raced over the water.

"You've got a great ass" he said as he moved by me, slapping it and making me laugh as he knocked on the door.

Jon cocked his weapon and smiled. "O, not in cruelty, not in wrath, the Reaper came that day; T'was an Angel visited the green earth, and took the flowers away."

---------

We weren't going to hold out much longer. There was a whole bridge full of zombies and they were running straight for us. Some didn't run and just jumped off the bridge, which helped sine they usually killed themselves and whoever they landed on. However, like it is most of the stories about the Infected, for every one you kill, five more take their spot.

"Fire in the hole!" Adam yelled as he threw a pipe-bomb, then he threw a Molotov down a bit ahead of us where a good chunk of infected ran at us.

A good chunk of them burned out before they could make it to us, the rest we just shot. We kept on shooting. We had no other option. If push came to shove we could just jump into the river and let the current take us far from them, but that might kill us. A Smoker jumped on top of a Fish and Chips stall it was going to get me, I just knew it.

It disappeared into smoke.

"Someone's here!" George yelled as we started to pull back to the dock.

More firing came from the boat and I turned to look to see who it is. Damien was at the very front toting what had to be another Tac-50. Shit, where does he get this stuff? A Boomer exploded and covered a few more Infected with its bile, which caused a bunch of them to tear each other to pieces.

The boat pulled up and a man in a black trench coat and cowboy hat jumped out and started firing. "Can't keep you blokes standin' out here with your pants on the ground! Get the fuck on the boat!" he yelled in a British accent.

Weird how he reminded me of a Texan. Anyways we started running and gunning our way to the boat. We heard a Tank roar as we made it down the dock. The man ran out of bullets on his gun and he threw it into the boat as Alex got inside with Terra and George. I told Adam to get ina as I spun around and took out my shotgun.

I kept firing into the crowd as the Tank got closer. "Get on! I'll take care of the Tank!" he shouted as he took out two blue-steel .44 revolvers and started blowing Infected away.

As I ran past him I saw him holster his two magnums and put his right hand into the left part of his coat. Out came the biggest, most bad-ass Magnum I had ever seen in my life. With at least a ten inch barrel of high weighted blue steel that thing was a beast. He took aim at the Tank as I ran into the boat. There was a deafening crack of a shot and I turned around to see the head of the Tank literally explode along with a good chunk of its left shoulder. The Tank's body tumbled over the dock and the man jumped off its body and onto the boat. "Clear! Go go go!"

He took off his hat and holstered his weapon. With a whispered voice he said "May you find peace in the next life, and may you find it within yourselves to forgive me"

---------

HOLY FUCKING SHIOT THAT TOOK FOREVER! OVER 10,000 WORDS! That's like getting three chapters in one!

Wow what a ride! Thanks to:

IcyEmo15 A.K.A Terra

Lord Genesis Shadow A.K.A. Gene

24 pages! READ AND REVIEWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW. Sex is coming next chapter! Awww yyeeeaaahhh! I'll try to release it faster ^_-


	14. Splinter

What I take pride in when I write Evolution is the amount of research that goes into this. I have about 20 links to Canadian Military and a few to the US Marines and Rangers in my bookmark list. Weapons, equipment and the like are all neatly organized. What was the major problem for me (and caused the late release of this chapter) was the sex. Give me furries, animals or Pokemon and I'll whip out the female's view easily. Human (or Alpha Hunters) females kind of throw me off. So with help from my girlfriend and Terra/IcyEmo, I was able to be satisfied with the sex scene.

**FOR THE SAKE OF YOUR SANITY:** Jonathan Cliff will be named Jon or "Cliff" while Jonathan DesRoches will remain Jonathan and "DesRoches". Remember that, I'll disregard reviews stating that, but I will love EVERY review sent in!

..:: Evolution Chapter 14 – Splinter ::..

I sat back in the chair and sighed as I relaxed. Terra was with me doing what she loved, and all was well. "Hey babe?" I said.

A muffled reply sounded like she wanted to know what I wanted. I decided to reply back. "Last night, I had a dream about you. In this dream, I'm dancing right beside you. It looked like everyone was having fun, the kind of feeling I've waited so long."

She then let out a muffled agreement and looked like she genuinely wanted me to continue. "Yeah, don't stop, come a little closer." She shuffled closer, "As we jammed, the rhythm got stronger. There was nothing wrong, with just a little fun? We were dancing all night long."

She giggled and I continued. "When the time was right, I put my arms around you. You must have felt right, 'cause you put your arms around too. Then suddenly, I felt the shining sun. Before I knew it, the dream was all gone."

She sighed and let out almost a content purr as she got back to what she was doing. "Well", I continued after a moan of relaxation and satisfaction, "I don't know what to do."

Terra took a breath, "About what Jon?" as she still massaged, my breaths got deeper.

"Well, about this dream and you. I wish this dream comes true." I said before my body tensed up.

I relaxed and Terra came up from her place between my legs and then sat on my lap. "Thanks babe, been a while since you did that."

She licked her lips, "Well it's been a while since we have had any alone-time."

I was slightly concerned tough. "You want anything back?"

"Nope, trust me, I get a lot out of doing that to you," she leaned in close and added "Master" with a giggle.

You see this is the weird but great thing about saving Terra's life. Ever since she's been a Hunter she has been a bit more submissive and has taken to calling me "master". Now I'm not complaining at all. I was just slightly surprised in this behaviour. She sometimes just gets really childish and curious, even more so than usual. Again, I'm not complaining, but she was different. A good different, I'm glad to see that she is happy.

I asked Damien about it once. He simply said that she was a female Hunter and was different from the males. Whereas he was more dominant with Jessica, Terra would be instinctively more submissive. Seeing how a male hunter would be dominant over a female hunter, it would make sense that she had taken me as a "mate" and all. It would be scary to see angry hunter sex over domin...

What the fuck was I thinking about?

There was a knock at our door. "Yo, Jon an' Terra, we be needin' ya at the bridge for a meetin' and everytink." A familiar Jamaican said through the door.

"Uhhh... sure fine." I replied.

"Oh an' one more ting." He said before yelling "I'mma gecko that can kill cake from a mile from Washington mon! Jus' ask Elvis!"

"What?" both of us asked in surprise.

"Ah jus' get cha tings an get up here!" he yelled back.

I didn't get an answer back apart from laughter as it faded down the hallway. With a bit of a weird look, Terra bounced off my lap. So we ran up to the bridge. I took longer in crossing he ship than Terra did. She easily jumped over the containers and junk that had piled on here and there. Luckily it hasn't snowed much yet, enough that you could snowmobile but not enough to actually stop anything. However, living so close to the water made for pretty chilly winds. We just made sure that each section had its own way of heating itself and that we closed doors around here.

Everyone was standing around a large table, maps spread out everywhere. Everyone was dressed in military olive drab outfits. Damien turned to me. "Cliff, glad you could make it. We are discussing on how to resolve our problem in London."

"London?" I said as I took a seat overlooking the table.

George gave me a bit of what everyone was thinking. "We feel like there may have been some survivors from the infected and Biker attack at the Mall. For instance, we all made it, why couldn't others? If anything, it would be imperative and essential that the survival of the human species be one of our top priorities. So we get them and bring them here."

I sat up straight. "So we are looking in taking back the Mall, or to evacuate any survivors or Knights back here?"

Jonathan DesRoches replied, "We have more than enough room to establish or construct a colony. Hell, if they can make Rivet City on Fallout, we can make another city in real-life. I get to be mayor though," he paused and a dreamy look went over his face, "you can all be my advisors and such! Awesome!"

"Fine then, how do we do this?" I asked.

"Well first we need to know where they are hiding." Jessica pointed out.

That I was able to get off of Midnight before I had to attend to Terra while she was unconscious. "They are around the old Ice House and Costco. They might even be up in the school, Regina Mundi."

We debated the possible location of the Bikers for the next while. Soon enough we came to the conclusion that the most defendable and resource-filled location would be the Costco big box store. That would have warehouse doors and access. It also had full-mechanic auto shop for cars and jeeps for them to use as well as a bakery and a shitload of food.

"So how do we get there and what is the plan?" Terra aked.

* * *

Apparently they answered my question quite well. The plan was solid and they showed me how our little team was going to get there. After a brief skirmish with a few infected, we used snowmobiles to make our way over to London. I had to hold onto Jon the whole way, making sure my claws are okay. "Terra, we are here" he told me after about two hours.

Strange enough, the cold or snow did nothing to slow down the infected. I once asked Gene what he thought about it, since he travelled all the way from Texas in the belief that Canada's winter might stall the Infected's run. "I have a theory Terra. Now down in southern America, around New Orleans and such there were swamplands. This of course was before I was infected. When I was down in there with another group of people we saw something peculiar. There were infected who had perfectly adapted to the swamp water. We nick-named them 'mud men', and they crept through the swamp and underbrush looking for their prey. Ones that weren't acting like mud men still had thicker muscles in their legs in order to move through water at running speed. They weren't Special Infected, just something different from the norm.

"Now take it up here in Canada, we could be getting infected that spit ice instead of acid. We could get infected that stab us with their tongues instead of wrapping them around us. Who knows? I however think that they will get a resistance to cold. However your virus is different than theirs, so yours is adaptive through intelligence rather than physical changes. So bundle the fuck up if you need to. I don't need to."

Jonathan, Alex, and Jessica stayed behind in order to keep things tidy and such. We didn't need much anyways, only a few people and a couple of guns. The special part of the plan was for Damien and me. As we came up to London we noticed a barn that had smoke coming up from around it. We killed the engines and I started running towards it. Damien was hot on my heels as we stuck low to the snow, blending in with the white since we dressed that way. Almost perfectly silent we made it to the side of the barn. I pushed on the talk part of my walkie-talkie and spoke through the microphone that was attached to the headphones connected to my ear. It wasn't Agent Smith's, but it was something.

"Damien, you have anything on the left side?" I asked as I crouched down on the left side of the barn.

"No, continue to the front door" he said.

So I did, I was about to turn the corner when I heard the sounds of a struggle coning from the other side of the barn. Soon I heard nothing again so I decided to slowly creep my way into the moonlit barn. I turned the corner and the air was blown out of my lungs as a force impacted my chest. Dazed I hit the ground gasping for air. A boot pinned me down and a rifle's barrel was pointed at my face. A man in all black wearing a gas mask was about to kill me.

"A man and a giraffe walk into a bar. They both get absolutely pissed. Giraffe falls to the ground passed out as the man turns to leave. The bartender says 'Oi, you can't leave that lyin' there!' to which the man replied 'That isn't a lion. That's a fucking giraffe'." The man said to me with a slightly muffled voice.

Nothing says post-apocalypse like a freak in a gas mask. I just stared at him. He removed the boot from my chest. "Looks like you are okay. Damien just told me about you, just making sure you weren't infected. Well, more than nor..." he cut himself off, "Lieutenant Terra?"

It dawned on me that this must have been Liam Wilson! This guy was a nightmare but a blessing. He once tripped over a rock, hit a car and his rifle shot a gas tank that two Hunters were on ready to pounce us. Then as the fight with the eventual infected came up, he slipped on an oil spill and hit the ground. When he did he unloaded his C1A2 light machine gun into an oncoming Tank, shredding it to bits. He was always doing stuff like this. The last 'accident' involved him shooting a Smoker in the chest with a sniper rifle, causing its body to fall off of a building and crush two infected on impact.

We collected ourselves and brought the rest of my friends into the barn. We filled each other in on what happened to the Mall. First, Liam and three other Knights were known to survive. A few more civilian survivors were holed up in the basement of the barn. They were overjoyed to see Jon at least, and definitely not completely objective to me either. The men just saluted me like they usually did but the civilians seemed to be a bit more wary around me. I was a Hunter now after all. Correction: Alpha Hunter, Damien always stressed the importance of our differences with our Infected cousins.

Liam filled us in on their escape. They used the same method of escape as the Bikers used for entry. The only difference is that they had no idea where they were going in the sewers and ended up fighting through infected until they decided it was safe enough to get out. They had been camping out in the barn since then.

Damien was sitting beside a teenager that I noticed. He was what Jon called a squire in the Knights. His name was Christian if I recalled. Christian seemed to be in a good mood as Damien showed him his sidearm and compared it to the one he was holding. I decided to talk to him.

"..and that was when I kicked the Smoker off the building. Let me tell you, they still pop smoke when they hit the ground." He said.

"Sweet, my best one is shooting a propane tank and having the shrapnel rip apart a Boomer. Its bile covered another can of explosives and as the infected swarmed, I blew them up." Christian countered as he thumbed rounds into a half-empty clip.

"Smooth" Damien replied as he loaded his magazine and cocked it before tossing on the safety.

So I laid back against a barn wall by Jon and the others as they formulated a plan on how to get into the Costco. The problem was getting into it, since the doors were closed most of the time unless they decided to go for a run. However with all the food there they had quite a lot of provisions. They had only been in there for about a week, so there was certainly food in there still when they took the Bikers out. I felt good about that, if we can take them out we would have quite the amount of resources to continue our home in the S.S. Dreamer.

So our way in would have to be through the roof, which they kept patrolled. "Goddamn it, how the hell can we get in?" Liam swore.

"It's going to snow tonight." A voice said from the basement.

We turned to see who it was. A man about twenty years old was coming from below. He wore what we called our "light" metal armour, enough to cover the arms, the chest and the legs. It was mostly to soften the blows of infected so that they hurt themselves more than they hurt us. The guy had dyed hair, currently orange but it seemed like he had natural brown or just really dirty blonde hair. His face had a sloppily-trimmed goatee. I didn't recognize him from the Knights.

"Ah! This is Noel Landon; he was a survivor that has been alone this whole time until he saw the smoke and helped us evacuate the Mall. I loaned him our armour for thanks." He leaned in close "Never takes it off, but he is always smack-on regarding the weather."

Damien shook his hand, "Snow you say?"

"Yeah, it's going to snow, decent cover for moving around. You have to know these things when you are on your own." Noel said as he shook Damien's hand in return.

Damien turned to me, "Well then I guess we should go soon now; don't you agree Terra?"

I sighed, "Guess this was going to happen eventually."

We were looking at the Costco from where the old Ice House arena used to be. Noel was right, it was going to snow heavy, it was already snowing a bit now. I used to appreciate the snowy nights every year in Canada, but having them cast in an orange glow made it seem even more magical. I was eating a piece of beef jerky when a though came into my mind. "Damien, can you answer something for me?"

He tilted his head to the side quizzically, much like a cat and simply replied with "Sure, what's on your mind?"

"What's the difference between killing infected prey and human prey?" I almost hesitantly asked.

He laughed, "Prey? What made you think of them as that?"

I almost could almost feel the blush rise under my... dead skin? "Well, I assumed since we are Hunters, everything else would be prey."

"We aren't Hunters, we are Alpha Hunters, don't forget it. We are of a higher echelon of infected status with the gift of heightened intelligence. We have become something more than human, and more than infected. We don't eat those that we hunt, we do it to survive, or in some cases for sport I guess. If it is needed to be eaten then I suggest that your prey be a deer. I ate one once. Kinda yummy."

The thought of Damien over Bambi almost made me laugh. "You didn't answer my question." I reminded him.

"Ah! Well there are key differences in humans and infected. The first is to know that one is more deadly but less aware yet the other is less deadly but more aware. Knowing the difference in your 'prey' for lack of a better word - for now – is the key understanding on how to stay alive.

"Infected use all their senses, sight, touch, taste, and almost more importantly, sound. Yet it is fairly easy to take out an infected, because they are limited in their effectiveness, even as a group. Using sounds and smells to your advantage to manipulate their awareness is key. Making as little sounds as possible can make you able to run across a field of infected without them even knowing you are there, since hearing something seems to make them use all their senses at once and then you cannot hide from them.

"Humans however are far more complex, yet easier to hunt when you follow certain rules. First, try to hunt one at a time, their effectiveness increases in a group as you would know. Second is that they don't rely on their senses much, and when they do they overcompensate. Toss a coin to the right and the mind will make them look to the right, while you cut from the left. In fact, misdirection is probably the best weapon to use against a human opponent.

"The last rule is to never, under any circumstances, leave a human injured but alive. The will of humans are unique in that most will never stop trying to live. If you intend to kill a man, then do the job completely. Leave no quarter. Got that?" he asked.

"Yeah, I think so." I said somewhat nervously.

He grabbed my shoulders. "Don't just be thinking that you know it, know that you know it. You are too precious for the rest of us to lose, human friends or otherwise. Besides, Jon is so attached to you that I'm sure he will give up if he loses you."

I was slightly taken back, "Really?"

"He's already seen you die once, make sure you don't needlessly make him go through it again." He replied simply.

Damien seemed to know what everyone was thinking at all times. He was trusted by pretty much every member of our little group. People told him things, and that was made even more apparent by Jon confiding something that serious to a man who wasn't even human anymore. Maybe he just saw past all the bullshit of social interaction. Maybe he just was so pure-hearted because he was free from human corruption. I still didn't know how much of the old world he remembered, but I am guessing that he will be remembered almost for forever with quite a few people.

"Want to hunt?" he asked as the snow started to blow harder.

I smiled back, "Thought you'd never ask."

As the snow started to cause a white-out condition, we ran towards the Costco. Strapped to us were silenced pistols and pretty much noting else but a few clips. Alex took black wet-suits and modified them so we could carry spare ammo. It was dark out, snow was blowing like crazy but we knew where we were going.

My heart is pounding like a machine. I am feeling giddy and happier than I have felt in a long time. Something about this was thrilling me as much as sex did. In fact, I could say that running to kill a bunch of humans was as good as sex. I almost shudder to think what actually hunting them was like.

We ascended a pipe running off the building and gained access to the roof. We made out three bikers through the white-orange snowflakes as they crowded around a sputtering barrel of fire. The snow was starting to die down. Damien came close and said simply "Take the left."

I crouched and drew my pistol, clicked off the safety and pounced. I hit him square in the chest and pulled the trigger, launching a nice slug into his brain. His blood splattered over the ice and snow around the barrel. We barely made a sound, except for some sputtering as I turned to see if Damien was successful. He was gripping a Biker by the throat. The Biker tried to punch him, but as he swung forward Damien ripped out his throat.

"Terra, check this out" he said as he stretched out the flesh in his hand.

Through the blood I could make out an outline of a flame, with a sideways eight. The inifinite flame. The flame of eternal flames. Flaming eternally in the flamey fire of flames. I am messed up. "So a massive gang?" I said as I noticed the same tattoo on Damien's other victim, mine as well.

"Or a cult, could be Satanic. Then again, aren't all cults stereotypically Satanic?"

"Aren't stereotypes bad?"

"Have you seen the rate Alex drinks Kool-Aid? I'd hate to see him in a watermelon patch."

"Oh"

He stood up as the Biker clutched his now gaping neck and Damien threw the piece of flesh into the fire, his claws glistening with blood and he let out a low hiss. The Biker's life expired as we found the roof access unlocked. Damien quickly put out the small fires that lit the way as we descended down the staircase to the main building. He slowly opened the door.

The warehouse was in shambles, or at least the centre of it was. There was a massive pit and shanties built around some fires as people shambled from one location to the other. It smelt terrible, even worse because my senses were heightened. We crept along the shadows of the once-butcher assembly in the back.

We were here to kill everyone; we just didn't know how many people were in here. So we did what we needed to do: get information. Damien started climbing the huge racks of supplies in the aisles and I followed. Soon we had a good vantage of what we needed to do.

There were really only two main sections of the pit that was dug out of the centre. There was a general gathering area, where twenty-six men and a few women were playing cards, getting drunk and fucking. Graffiti of the 'Eternal Flame' were scattered here and there. The other parts were just really bad houses built around beds. Damien was scratching his chin. "What are you thinking about?" I asked quietly, though loud music and cried of sex made easy to stay hidden.

"It's kinda cool up here eh? Temperature-wise right?" he said off-hand.

"Yeah... why did you say that?" I replied as I cocked my head slightly in confusion.

"If we keep it dark, we can use it against them right?" he asked.

"Yeah..."

"I know that London's water pressure is fine, so that means that the sprinkler system is online right?" he said smiling as he reached for the supports on the ceiling.

I saw what he was going to do. If we could get to the maintenance room, we would essentially overload the sprinkler system and send water spraying everywhere, dousing the fires. I followed his lead and jumped up into the rafters as well.

We crossed the whole building silently and unseen. We got a good grasp of what went on. The Bikers came in, built down and made windows for circulation and ventilation. Then they cleared out the middle, made homes and left the side aisles built into the ground with a load of supplies virtually untouched on the shelves. We could use those supplies to last a long time.

We slipped into the offices, more paintings and graffiti and debris were thrown here and there. Soon enough we were down in the basement, we crept along slowly.

"Now what I don't fucking get is why we have to stay down here while everybody gets to party." A male voice said as we dropped into the shadows.

"Easy, somebody has to make sure that there are no gas leaks and to make sure that the sprinkler system doesn't flash on." A rattier voice replied.

The two guys argued for a bit before I turned to Damien. He was gone. I panicked as I heard a couple of footsteps walk away from me and to the room.

"Hi guys, you're fucked." Damien said as he shot them.

Two lifeless bodies hit the ground as Damien to the maintenance keys from the one with the squeakier voice. He went over to the console and started playing with things he didn't know the function of. I kept watch before I heard water pouring and people swearing. I noticed one of the guys had a few grenades on them. I decided to take the belt they were looped on. Damien broke the key and the box he used to turn on the system with his fist before he beckoned me back out and up onto the rafters.

Everything was coated in orange, which means that it was pitch black. Shots were going off and screams were heard as I saw people running around. We were slightly wet from the climb but we were above the sprinklers now. Soon flashlights were found and people were looking all around. We moved to opposite sides of the Costco.

I gently landed on the giant steel shelves that made the aisles. I silently jumped from one aisle to the next, picking off people as they moved around. A panicked enemy was a dead one, at least which is what I found. The second thing I found was that I was enjoying this, almost too much. I lightly jumped off the aisles to land on a man, while shooting his two friends. I flattened my hand and pierced his neck along his spine.

It continued on that way for a while. Some found me and shot at me but they were way too panicked to actually hit me. I could barely remember the kills that I had made; looking back up to this moment it was all one heavy adrenaline-filled ride. God and I loved it. I could feel the blood running down my claws, the blood swirling along my tongue, the smell of fear and panic and this almost unrivalled pleasure of the kill.

My God, I was almost having an orgasm killing people. What is wrong with me?

I looked up to see Damien face-off against a guy with a knife that managed to actually light up a lantern. Damien looked like he picked up a bullet-proof vest and they were circling each other. I looked across the way to see a lone man try to find his gun in the dark, how did I miss him? Damien lunged at the guy as he stabbed him in the arm. Damien pinned him down and straddled his chest, then stared at the knife sticking out of his shoulder.

"Now look at that! Man that really hurts don't you know? Let's see how you like it." Damien said as he ripped the knife from his arm and started stabbing the man's chest over and over again.

The blood splattered over my face, and I was sickened when I almost opened my mouth to catch it.

Things were becoming too blurry for me to keep up. Damien looked up to me and I just stared into his orange eyes. We were breathing heavily when we heard the man at the end start yelling in fear. He hissed at me. Damien hissed at me! How dare he challenge me! I am the better Hunter! I'll just hiss back at him!

Jump off, get above the ground, you'll get to the prey faster. Leap over the box, avoid rafter. One step off of aisle, crouch. Pounce. Lead into the kill. Get the kill. Kill the prey, get the prey. Got his feet. Oppenent has top half. Pull to get half. Must get half. Screaming, other's pain. So good. Hiss happily. Grouwl and pull! Pull! Pull harder!

I have his bottom half! Oppenent still has top half but he is farther away. Blood on the floor. Intestines on ground. Eat later. So good. Male nearby, smells great. Male Hunter. Must have, was opponent. Not opponent. Mate. Must mate. So good.

Pounce male. Clothes in way. Vest in way. He's ripping my clothes. Must mate. God the scent is great. Must have him. Hardness. I can feel is under his clothes, I must have it. Eyes, those topaz eyes. So good. Feels so good. Kissing. Oh God must have him inside me.

"Damien!" a voice yelled in the dark.

"Terra!" another yelled.

So good must be on bottom. Why am I on the bottom? Why am I on the floor? Why is Damien above me? "Umm.. Terra? What happened?" Damien asked.

Here I was, underneath him, my breasts exposed due to slashes across my wetsuit covered in blood. My hair was a mess, his. Oh God his. Wow, as big as Jon. Bigger maybe. Why am I thinking of this? "Do.. um do you mind getting off of me?"

He did and started looking for some clothes off of dead people. I got up and did the same. Oh my God I almost fucked my best friend's boyfriend. Jesus Christ, if Jessica knew... If Jon knew. Jesus what was wrong with me?

"Sorry about that, instinct takes over sometimes. You smell pretty tempting too." Damien said casually as he slipped a wet shirt on.

"What do you mean? I almost fucked you! God I almost cheated on Jon!" I said slightly panicking as I fumbled with a bra I found in its package, Costco really did have everything right there.

"Nah, you are still thinking in human terms in times of social balance. One, we aren't human. Two, I don't think that social faux-pas really are applicable in these times."

"So you were totally fine with nailing me to kingdom come?"

"Pretty much, if anything you were ready and willing. Your scent is actually really enticing. What caused it?"

I blushed and felt ashamed. "Nothing I want to admit."

"Ah, adrenaline turn-on. Well, luckily only me and Gene will be able to detect it for now. Jessica will when we get back. I think it is an animal thing. Don't hate it, just deal with it."

"What? Deal with it? Deal with me getting aroused by killing people?"

"No, you getting pleasure from doing what you are meant to do. So what if you got some jollies out of it?"

"I'm not supposed to enjoy it!" I almost yelled.

"No, your old self is telling you not to enjoy it. Deep down you loved it, so what if you like killing? I get the same thing off of looking at popcorn pop or running really fast. Well I don't pop a boner but I enjoy it in a strange way. Enjoy what you are in this post-apocalyptic hell. If you can't, then you will go insane." He said as he made his ways to the opening grate at the far side.

Was he right? Why shouldn't I enjoy it? Because it was against the law. But there is no law now. Because it is inhuman. I'm not human. Because it is wrong. What is wrong, they were killers and murderers weren't they? Why am I still wet? Goddammit.

"Babe?" I heard from behind me.

I turned to see Jon behind me. He looked so handsome as water lightly rained down upon him. I smiled. Damien leaned into his shoulder and said something, then patted his back as he left.

"Honey?" I said as he hugged me close, I swear I almost pounced him then.

"Yeah."

"You know that barn across from the one we met the rest of the Knights in?" I said as my hand slowly moved down his stomach.

"Meet me there as soon as you can okay?" I said as I lightly caressed him, then spun around and ran out of the warehouse.

About an hour later I was changed into much direr and slightly warmer clothes. Excusing myself from everyone else, I said I was going to scout around for a few hours. Instead, I headed directly to the barn like I said to Jon. We always had our own personal backpacks without things whenever we left our stronghold, and I made sure I had a sleeping bag with me. The two reasons were that I didn't like sleeping on the cold ground, and I didn't like Jon taking me on the cold ground. Plus it let me carry around a DS and other entertainment.

I heard the door creak slightly open. I had a small fire going, but I still knew who it was. We were far away from London to know that we wouldn't be actively hunted by the Infected. We just had to make sure we didn't make such a huge noise as to draw them out from the city.

I crouched into the traditional Hunter stance and awaited my prey.

"Terra?" Show time. His footsteps grew closer and I could feel my heart speed up as my mind races with plans. His hand lands on my shoulder and I reach up to grasp it with my own. Contact. Gripping his wrist tightly I pull him over my shoulder and roll him so he's laying flat on his back.

"Terra! What the-" cutting him short, I throw a leg over his waist so that I'm seated on his lap, my ripped jeans tightening over my thighs as they flex, muscles shivering in anticipation.

"Master, it seems like the Hunter has pounced you." I growled down at him, smirking lightly, lifting my hips up slightly before grinding them back down on to his crotch, shuddering lightly at the feel of him underneath me.

I could see the wheels clicking behind his eyes as realization dawned on him just why I called him here. He returned my smirk. His hands rested on the back of my thighs before trailing upwards, pausing momentarily to grope at my backside before coming to a rest on my hips where he lifted me up once more. He then started grinding me down with more pressure this time, making the both of us shiver in the frosty night. Well not that I was really looking for it, but it was nice to know I had his permission to do this.

Leaning forward, I bypass his mouth and press my lips to the space just behind his ear, grinding my hips into his to the beat of a song that had been stuck in my head for a few days now. Weird how my mind strays like that now.

"Fuck" He groaned out loud, spurring me onward.

The hand that was gripping at his wrist moved, ghosting up his arm, down his chest before resting on his belt. "Does this please my Master?" I ask him, trying to make my voice as innocent as possible, without sounding childish. Innocence was good. Pedophilia was not.

"It would, if you would continue." I don't think I've ever undone a belt so quickly in my life.

Once the leather was out of the way, I slapped his hands away from my waist and slink my body down, breathing heavily as the new target comes into view, the sizable bulge pressing against the zipper of my prey's pants. Licking my lips a little, I tilt my head forward and grip the zipper with my teeth, slowly pulling it down, the sound ringing in my ears. Once that was out of the way, I noticed something.

"Nothing underneath, Master?" I couldn't help but be playful; it was making this whole thing so much more enjoyable.

"Easy access is important." He replied.

I could barley hold back a light chuckle as I push his pants lower on his hips. I stated racking my claws lightly down his skin as I go, before sitting up straight and smirking down at the body beneath me. I pulled my shirt above my head, which was soon followed by my bra. I tossed it behind me before unsnapping the buttons to my jeans, pushing them down along with my purple pinstriped panties. I shivered in delight as the cold air met my hot, wet core.

"Play with yourself." He said suddenly.

"M-Master?" I replied hesitantly.

"You heard me."

Oh God lord did I ever. It was like I wasn't in control of my body anymore, every piece of my begging me to please my "master". With one hand rolling my left breast and the other glued between my thighs enjoying the smooth wetness that lay waiting there. My breathing was growing laboured as I felt my insides begin to clench and turn, two fingers twisting inside me carefully, the side of my thumb almost abusing my clit.

"G-Gonna...oh shit...G-gonna..." I couldn't get my message across however.

He rolled me, moving us closer towards the flames, he ripped my hands off my body, causing me to groan in displeasure. I was so fucking close! Using his own strength, Jon pinned my hands to the ground and tilted his hips.

Finally he entered me, but didn't hold back. My heart is racing. He is slamming, ramming, friction! Wonderful friction! Bumping! Oh God, So Deep! Hitting my..oh God so deep! Fiction, friction, friction! Pooling Heat, Tightening Muscles! Releasing. My Release. So good! More friction, harder slamming, deeper, and then scorching heat. His release.

My heart sowed almost to normal, I couldn't really feel my arms or legs. He slowly pulled out of me and quickly draped his long coat over us. I blushed as I could feel his, well, his seed slightly leaking out of me. "I'd have to say Terra, you are quite something." He said lightly as he lit up a cigarette.

"Is that a compliment?" I paused and smiled before adding "My master?"

"Definitely is my little Hunter." He said as he put his clothes on.

As I was tossing my clothes on, a single shot was heard outside. We both quickly grabbed our guns and took defensive positions inside the barn. Something was going down, and it wasn't going to be pretty.

* * *

"Send that Hunter out!"

There were six of them. I know it because they were standing right outside beside their motorcycles. How could I have missed them? Oh, they might have been a recon squad looking for other supplies and whatnot.

"Damien, what do we do?" Noel asked me.

I paused, and then realized we weren't in any danger. We had over 20 people on our side. "Easy, get everyone who has a gun around the barn and slowly cock and let them see how well-armed we are, then follow my lead. I'm going out there."

Noel Just nodded and everyone started getting to position. "When they cock their guns, you guys to the same and make sure that you draw it out, I want one rocket launcher pointed at them but d not use it okay?"

I stood up and slowly walked out of the barn; I got about three steps before they raised their guns and cocked them. I raised my hands to show that I was unarmed, and kept walking as everyone behind me started to aim at the Bikers. Their faces went from angry scowls, to confused, to almost scared shitless.

I took my raised hands and lowed and extended them to in front of me, making fake guns with my fingers. I looked back to see the long barrel of my MacMillan poking through the damaged boards. I pointed my gun to the man on the left. I smiled.

"I suggest dropping the guns gentlemen."

One started to act up, "Like hell we will! You killed out men our bro-" he was silenced when I pointed my left fake gun at him.

"Bang" I said simply, flicking my fingers back in a fake recoil as his head exploded.

I pointed my fingers back at the gang, casually pointing at the other members. I crouched, ready to sring out of the way. "Well guys, you just shouldn't have been raping, killing, stupid pricks. Now you sealed your fate, good day."

I jumped straight in the air and their bodies crumpled in the wall of bullets that tore them apart. I misjudged my jump and landed on a guy's open stomach.

"Godddamn it! I now need new shoes! This blood is never going to come off!"

A few people laughed as we packed our things and made our way to Sarnia. We had people now, only a matter of time before we had a city, and we could start rebuilding humanity.

* * *

There, you had a sex scene. Can anybody tell I love Daft Punk too much? I am sorry for those who got like 5 e-mails, the POV splits wouldn't work! I am still trying to fix them!


	15. Apologies

Hello everyone. I am Jonathan "Damien Darkside" DesRoches. You know me better as the guy who wrote a damn good story and never updated the fucking thing.

Sorry to troll and tease you for this page. I know it is against the rules, but I have made one of the longest (in words at least) Hunter fics in , and scored them a load of hits. So they got money anyways. So they shouldn't be angry about it.

I love you guys and I am sorry.

One of the greatest things that an author should know is when they should end a story, and how they should end it. Evolution in my mind has ended, and the last few chapters felt like I was beating a dead horse. I can't write anymore Evolution. I don't even know how to end it.

Seriously, I've been editing and helping people write for more than a year, but I can't seem to finally finish Evolution in a way that I am satisfied with. I simply cannot.

I first thought I owed my readers an apology, and then I pushed that idea away. I don't get paid for this. Why should I continue? Then I realized that I do love you guys, and I keep getting e-mails and PMs of the following:

"Dude are you going to finish Evolution?" No. This is it. It is dead. How do you finish a survival story in a post-apocalypse? Damien was the reason most survived on the SS Dreamer. How do you do it? I'll add my post-story ideas for the characters.

"Will you make a sequel?" No, maybe someone or something will make me write a Damien-included chapter, but don't expect a new chapter.

"Will Jessica get pregnant?" No. STFU. Seriously, you know nothing of childbirth; I don't know a thing either. I know what guns to use, but nothing including having kids.

Thanks Terra for being there from the beginning. Secret.

So here you go. Actually, for those that play Fallout here is an idea: the following is told by Ron Pearlman.

Ending Storyboards for Evolution

Damien

Damien first awoke as a monster, and through his trials and tribulations, showed that humanity isn't something that you can find in only humans. He fought to keep his friends safe. He lived to see his friends live their lives. He lived longer than they did, thanks to the regenerative abilities of his kind. However, in his old age he taught the values that he learned in his long second-life. He travelled across Canadian Wasteland, but never felt truly at home unless he was back in New London.

He learned to love with Jessica, and spent the rest of his days with her. He made and lost many friends, but the first few he made lasted him a lifetime.

Jonathan Cliff

Jonathan Cliff continued to lead the colony of SS Dreamer, and eventually took the ruins of Old Sarnia and turned them into the town of New London. Walls went up, trade routes were established and the London Knight Military soon became a beacon of hope to the scattered communities of the Wasteland. The old Canada may have died, but the determination of humans made a new one in its place. He lived and led the people until he was 61, when he passed away due to a heart attack.

His memory and dedication lived on through many leaders, and is seen as one of the heroes of Old Canada.

Sgt. Terra

Terra never forgot her old life, and was extremely thankful for the second one she was blessed to have. As with Damien, she outlasted her mate Jonathan Cliff. She left in rage and sadness when Cliff finally died at the age of 61.

With Damien and Jessica wandering the wastes for a decade, he found the shell of his former hunter friend. He was able to stay with her for a few years before the female hunter fell in love with him and joined Jessica into becoming his mate as well. She was able to recover to her full self again and was truly happy for the first time in 10 years after Cliff's passing.

Jonathan DesRoches

Jonathan wandered the Canadian Wasteland with Damien and Alex for quite some time after New London was established. Always carrying a large book, he kept on recording people's stories for an extremely long time. He also wrote plenty of other stories as well, in hopes that someday somebody will read them.

Eventually his vast library of stories became the "DesRoches' Records". Over fifty books of people's accounts of the apocalypse, twenty three books of the past world and dozens of stories of random subjects.

One community found hope and religion in his writings, and the Church of the Stone was made. They took the failings of the old world and set across the Wasteland teaching people how to better survive.

One day Jonathan left New London and vanished without a trace.

Alexander Lawrence

Alex was one who cherished life to the fullest. Through his engineering he was able to make New London a prosperous place to live. Agriculture bloomed, defences were solidified and the people were happy.

He spent a few years with Jonathan DesRoches and Damien recording stories of survivors and getting new ideas for inventions and innovations.

After Jonathan Cliff stepped down from being the leader, people voted Alex to be the new mayor. He kept London happy and safe for many a year. He established a proper school and a centre for science and innovation.

Sgt. George Lapin

Bunny George was a soldier through and through. He was appointed the leader of the London Knights and led them to be honourable and true. They held onto the values that so many people had seem to lose in the fall of mankind. He died in combat at the age of 43.

Gene

After New London was established he waved his good-bye and left into the American Wasteland.

Traders tell of an undead cowboy killing raiders and murderers. Caravans would soon pray for the Lone Cowboy to keep watch.

Jessica

Jessica was the first in Damien's life and stayed with him throughout her life. After Alex died she took over as Mayor of New London until she stepped down after 30 years of service.

Damien, Jessica and Terra eventually left New London after about a century of living. They travelled the wasteland and eventually settled in Northern Ontario. In Algonquin Park, they built a home and lived until they decided not to anymore.

They vanished into the stories of history.

In front of New London there is a set of statues. There is one for Damien, Terra, DesRoches, Cliff, Alex and George.

They are never forgotten.

THE END


End file.
